Petty Fest 2009

If you know me at all, you can imagine my reaction when I discovered that the Bowery Ballroom would be holding an event called Petty Fest.

I put it on my calendar, recruited a sidekick and bought tickets two months in advance.

This week the day of the much-anticipated Petty Fest finally arrived. And I went. And it was good.

Kheaven agreed to attend to make sure that I didn't get out of control. I even threatened him into smiling for a picture instead of trying to look stoic and cool.


And here is a little bit of Petty Fest, from me to you...

And I WON'T BACK DOWN, No I won't... back... down.

Yes, I'm 14

Tragic Kingdom is the first album I ever bought. So when Roommate Sarah asked if I wanted to go with her to see No Doubt in concert at Jones Beach, I hesitated only for a second. Because hey, they were my favorite band when I was 14. But then again, they were my favorite band when I was 14.

So you see my dilemma.

We had to take a subway, a train and a bus to get to the amphitheatre.. but it was SO very cool that I didn't really mind.

Check this out, the stage is actually IN the water...

So Paramore opened the show, which added to my nostalgic adolescent trip. And the Gwen and the boys did their thing. It was fun. Of course I had forgotten how many great songs No Doubt has. They have been really quite successful over the years.

What I really fell in love with, though, was the venue.

Concert + Beach = Awesome

I love the 80's, Part 2

Going to see Tainted Love at B.B. Kings is quite possibly the most fun I've ever had. Twice.

Tainted Love is of course the 80's tribute band out of San Francisco that we saw back in September. And I've been checking the performance schedule on their website regularly, hoping they would come back. And they did!

This time I invited, basically everyone I know, only to have them sell out half an hour before the show, meaning that most of the friends that showed up, didn't get in. BUMMER. Not wanting to be left to the mercy of the bouncers on a busy night, however, I had picked up my ticket the night before... and the few of us that did get in were not disappointed.

Their set list is loooooooooong. They play for over two hours straight...


Their guitar player rocks...


The guys in the band...


We were right up against the stage, where people were leaving their drinks on the tape that said "No drinks." Apparently illiteracy is a side effect of drunkenness?


THIS guy, I remember from last time we saw Tainted Love. He's a true fan. He even flew out the San Francisco to see them perform on New Years. Dedicated. He looks a little crazy here, but he's actually a nice guy. He gets like this when they play Journey.


Kevin made it in...


Amy did too. Isn't she too cute for words?


Outside afterwords... Dirty (because of the girl behind me that spilled her drink on me - there is nothing quite as disgusting as having beer in your hair), exhausted (this was about 2:30 am), and happy...

They even played my favorite song...

Joshua Radin/Webster Hall

Concert #5 of 5 was Joshua Radin at Webster Hall... Which is really the concert that sort of inspired Marathon Live Music Week 2009 to begin with.

Joshua Radin's career kicked off when his buddy Zach Braff out one of his songs on his hit TV show, Scrubs. I discovered Joshua Radin from the "Catch and Release" Soundtrack. And now you can discover him from this blog post (just doing my part to support the arts).

Josh:

A brief note on Webster Hall as well, which is another iconic venue, this time on the Lower East Side. It's been around since 1886 - the site for socialite balls, prohibition era speakeasys, protests, rallies, recordings, plays, concerts, nightclubs and intellectual circles. It's difficult to imagine packing anymore character and history into a single building.

No Envy, No Fear:

Vegetable Car:

Thus ended Live Music Marathon 2009. Good times were had, I think we'll make it a tradition.

Amos Lee/The Jazz at Lincoln Center

Without a doubt, seeing Amos Lee at The Jazz at Lincoln Center goes down as one of my top ten nights in New York City.

Melissa called every day for a month, but there weren't any tickets available... until about 3 hours before the show, there was some rushing, an argument with a cab driver and a frantic scramble for the box office, but she was ultimately successful. I maya have started dancing in my cubicle when I heard the news, but since there aren't any witnesses, that can't be confirmed.

In the same spirit of boldness adventuring, we found a new restaurant on the Upper West Side for dinner - Calle Ocho, really good Cuban food, I highly recommend it - and the promptly made our way over to the venue.

A shiny elevator operated by a nice man in a maroon uniform took us to the fifth floor of the Time Warner Center. I was rendered speechless when we walked into the room.

Floor to ceiling windows overlooked Columbus Circle with a view straight down Central Park South. The stage was a small raised platform in front of the wall of windows. Oh, and then we were taken to our seats in the THIRD ROW, and that's when I squeeked with joy and amazement and almost passed out. We were able to sneek the above picture before the camera-nazi patroller scolded us and informed us of the no-picture rule.

He's a great live performer and it every minute was spine-tingling. And since this was concert #3 in my marathon week of live music, I have a solid fram of reference.

The artist, himself:

Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5hPVqPMywc

Still lovin' Randy

Remember that guy I heard on the subway once upon a time? Melissa and I still go to see him as often as we can, but even 20-something's can only handle being out so late, so it's not as often as I'd like. We did make it this week however, twice.

He's still making the best music I've heard in the city, and coming out with his first solo album in about a month. I've hear him play a couple of the tracks, and some of them you can download off of his website... www.randystern.info. You should pick up the album, because he's going to be famous one day and you'll wish you had. And even if he doesn't make it big, he's a great songwriter and a talented musician and you'll just enjoy listening.



Getting to know talented and passionate people like Randy is another thing I love about New York.