mmmPoo

Been going to a bunch of concerts in the last few weeks and have a few on the agenda. Here's a quick recap.

2/24/05: Ben Lee @ Tonic in NYC

Ben Lee leaving after the show

I've been a fan of Ben's for a while (since he appeared on a copy of CMJ in the 90s), but didn't really get into him until I saw him perform at Maxwell's a few years ago. He put on an amazing show. I try to go see bands who's music I recognize and enjoy when they show up at Maxwell's. I couldn't get anyone to join me to see Ben Lee when he came around, so I went solo. I had an awesome time. It has to be one of the top 5 shows I've seen there. Since Maxwell's is a small venue, Ben decided to hand out name tags and a magic marker for everyone to write their names on their shirt. It was funny.

This new show was at small little venue called Tonic. I went with a friend who had never heard his music before and she really liked it. We spotted Claire Danes (his ex-girlfriend) at the show and she was stunningly beautiful. I'm not normally impressed with celebrity spotting's, but she's unbelievably hot.

Ben put on a great show playing mostly tracks from his new album. At the end of the show when he was walking out I got a chance to shake his hand and thank him for the great show. I like doing silly things like that at small venues and he actually seemed to appreciate the jester.

2/26/05: Ian Brown @ Webster Hall in NYC

Yes, seriously, this is the best I can do of a picture of the show.

Ian Brown is of Stone Roses fame. I can't say I'm too familiar with the Stones Roses or much of a fan, but they were popular. I like his latest solo album and my cousin dragged me to the show. His new stuff was great, but he also played a lot of old stuff that I had never heard. He's got a classic stage presence; very British Rock Starish. I told my cousin that he ripped off Liam from Oasis's attitude, to which she quickly explained to me that Ian was first. I enjoyed it, but it's an awkward feeling when a band starts playing a song and EVERYONE in the audience besides you recognizes the song, starts to go nuts and sings along. I had many moments like that at the show. I still had a really good time.

Other shows coming up on the radar that I've already gotten tickets for include:

4/8: OK Go at Maxwell's

I've been listening to their album a lot on Napster and I really like. It's catchy, fun and rocking. The show should be pretty good and I got a pretty good crowd joining me to see it. Since Maxwell's is on the corner, worse case, I can always walk home. It's happened before, but I can't imagine this show isn't going to ROCK.

4/19: Garbage at Hammerstein in NYC

Their new album is coming out on April 12th. I can't wait to hear it. I've been a Garbage fan for a while and seen them live a few times. I wasn't in love with their last album, but I've heard their new single off this new album and it seems like their new stuff is going to be good. We'll see I guess, but I'll be at the show regardless.

6/22: Oasis at Madison Square Garden (with special guest Jet)

I already posted something about this show. I picked up AMAZING seats. Their new album is coming out on May 30th. Good stuff [I hope]. We also picked up tickets to go to a unique party at B.B. Kings after the show. Should be fun.

Besides all these concerts, this seems to be the year for new music. I've picked up a bunch of new bands I really like (a random sampling: Athlete, Autolux, Bloc Party, The Shins, The Thrills, Rachael Yamagata) and some bands I like are coming out with new albums (Garbage, Oasis, Weezer, Coldplay to name a few).