I was sitting by the side of the bathtub, giving my kid a bath. My head was between my knees and I just decided I couldn’t live like this. I was out the door half a xanax and 10 minutes later, headed to Brooklyn. Yes, I told my wife I was going first. Yesterday was […]
This was the first indoor show I attended since Jan. 2020, which is by far the longest stretch of my adult life. Probably and then some. I’ve never thought of Clifton, NJ, as my “safe space” over, say, the moon or anywhere else, but Swallow the Sun were supposed to play Dingbatz in that forgotten […]
As well as with reasonable consistency over the last seven years and intermittently throughout the last half-century-plus, King Crimson have been on tour since late July for a run that’s been dubbed ‘Music is Our Friend.’ Perhaps needless to say given the parties involved in the lineup and their level of expertise at their respective crafts, […]
Things were markedly less tense at Rushing Duck Brewing Co. than when I was fortunate enough to see Sun Voyager play there (review here) exactly nine months prior. The sign outside said if you’re vaxxed you can take off your mask or do whatever makes you comfortable at the bar, and outside there were more tables than […]
My whole question coming into this was how much of a show it was going to be. Outdoors, masks on, early start, limited capacity, at a brewery celebrating its eighth (I think) anniversary. Do I need earplugs? Do I bring my camera? Should I be worried about a crowd? The last time I went to […]
Traffic was Defcon Go-Fuck-Yourself on the way to New York, but I had anticipated such things and still made it in plenty of time for a bit of hanging out ahead of the start of the first Ode to Doom of 2020 at Arlene’s Grocery in Manhattan. This site has been involved in presenting these shows for […]
Saw a high-speed chase between a sedan of some sort and a NJ State Trooper on my way to the show, and the guy actually got away, so it seemed fated that Clutch would play “Crucial Velocity.” Clutch are, of course, an institution. Clutch at Starland Ballroom, likewise, and that’s actually an institution that pre-dates […]
Before the Show Well, don’t tell anybody, but the dude sitting at the end of the bar DJ’ing is me. Actually, come to think of it, I’m pretty sure I don’t care if you tell anybody. At this point, I know most of the seven or eight people in this room right now. But I […]
