SHARING THE SHOWS
So congestion and a cough entered my body to balance out the gradual disappearance of my stomach bug. But I was determined to rally it together for Spring Break Concert #3. I continued my love affair with the New York City subway system when catching the L train to Graham Street, a quiet, residential neighborhood in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It bummed me out that nobody would give up a seat for a young woman with a plant and a dog. Instead, they were all just staring at the phone. Sigh… I was happy to meet up with Kelly, a friend from my college years, at the 18th Ward Brewing Company, a brewery/restaurant right across from Brooklyn Steel. This was the first restaurant I’ve ever been to where you make your order on your phone. An interesting development, though I do still like the human touch. And when we got our check, which included tip, Kelly remarked, “Thank you for making us order online, dropping our plate, no silverware or napkins, and you included tip!” Amen, Kelly; my grilled cheese was good, but they should really reexamine their method of service. Three-star Yelp review. Kelly and I had some good conversation: people we knew from college, politics, travel/professional plans. After we parted ways, I headed to the venue.
I LOVE Brooklyn Steel’s exterior! The building was originally a steel manufacturing plant, but was made into a music venue in 2017. The bouncer, after feeling my pockets, commented, “You got snacks!” I replied they were cough drops, and that I was fighting through my illness. “Oh you gotta do that!” I said. “Yolo, right?” was my response, to which she smiled and said, “That’s right!” I walked into see Special Guest (aka The New Regime) busting out what sounded like metal chords. They played a song called “You Can Be Whoever you Wanna Be”. They also had the crowd chant their name. If Maggie, Mark, Drew, or Gary had been there, I would have chanted, “Special Guest” just to be goofy. But, having ridden solo to this one, nobody would’ve gotten it. Silversun Pickups took the stage at 9:15. I first heard “Panic Switch” on the radio in 2009, and I was in love. For some reason, I associate this group with the first composition class I ever taught, a themed course on music. I remember being intimidated by that experience at first, but it went quite well, and the students enjoyed it. The crowd was a nice mixture of young and middle-aged, and I saw a few fellow solo concertgoers as well (gotta love the anonymity in New York). I’ve described this band as “Smashing Pumpkins with a psychedelic twist,” so even though they’re contemporary, I felt I was being transported back to 1994, what with my grungy flannel shirts. A young lady in front of me wore a necklace that read “CUNT” and had a teddy bear for a backpack. A bunch of people were pogo dancing, a la the punks. Swoon is the only album I really know of the group’s repertoire; they played “Panic Switch, “Growing Old is Getting Old,” and I got my skingasm through “Royal We” (the break at 2:12). But I dug all their other songs. Another highlight: the singer, Brian Aubert, is very charismatic with the audience. He loves to interact. During one tune, he instructed the audience to snap their fingers. “If you know how to snap, but aren’t doing it, then fuck you!” he exclaimed in jest. “If you can’t snap, I’m sorry; just get with someone that does.” Love it. The show ended very quickly; we were out at about 10:50. I have been spoiled by the two-set format of jam bands; most concerts don’t go quite as long. The Pixies and The Shins (seen with Drew/Brometheus) were also short. The subway ride was a nice visual buffet of punk hairdos and hipster fashions. I seriously miss New York; if academe doesn’t pan out, I may just have to move back here to do freelance writing. I feel a total connection with this urban landscape. Three concerts in six days while battling illness; if that’s not badassery, I don’t know what is.
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