Back To The Future
DJ Fleetwood Mac/Gene Dreamy, Gary Sincere & the Pets/The Notekillers/Enon
Mercury Lounge//8/19/05
Funny, but I haven't seen Enon since I started seeing The Spunk Lads. I'm not speaking figuratively--that's exactly how it happened. I used to see Enon at the Merc and Brownies. I have Believo!, their 1st CD, and that's it. I remember when the disc came out. Got it at Maxwell's when Enon opened for Man Or Astroman?. Yeah, pretty sure that was it.
Enon was the 1st band on the bill for the 1st Siren. July 21, 2001. I wanted to be there to see them but figured I'd have to leave mad early to get down to Coney Island by 11:30 and besides, I also wanted to see MOAM?, who went on in the afternoon and I wouldn't've had the energy in the heat.
That same evening I caught The Spunk Lads for the 1st time and after that, it just seemed that Enon and I were traveling in different orbits. Funny, also, that now--4 years later, The Spunk Lads have broken up and Enon is back at the Mercury Lounge. I even considered not going. It's just that it's been too long. What's the point? But how could I not go? It's only $10. Besides, I could always chalk it up to another stop on the birthday blowout.
Enon is now on Touch & Go--my fave record label when I was in college, home to MOAM?, Brainiac, GVSB, and the Dirty 3. How could I not have known that? Or maybe I did but since I've been busy with other bands, it just slipped my mind. I do know they have other albums out. I checked out the Notekillers: their S/T album is circa 1977-81.
Thing is, the Merc site only had Enon and the Notekillers listed for that night for the longest. I read (I can't remember where) that Turing Machine was supposed to be on the bill. The Voice review even reviewed Turing Machine. And is Gene Dreamy and Gary Sincere (who I have seen listed around) a separate act from the Pets, because I've never seen a listing for "Gene Dreamy, Gary Sincere & The Pets?" And what the hell am I doing about CMJ? And my money? And my life? And this site?
The doors were at 8 and DJ Fleetwood Mac (oy) on at 8:30, said the tix. I left late and had to stop at the ATM and sitting there on the counter was a cellphone. Don't get involved, I tell myself. You don't have time to do track someone down until tomorrow and by then the owner will have cut the service or the battery will have run out, and they'll get another phone. Well, then I can drop it off for recycling at Staples. Still, I ran the phone upstairs because what if it goes off at the show and I didn't know how to silence it beforehand. I don't want to be that person whose phone rings at a show and I'd be really embarrassed.
I got there at 8:10 to find that the doors haven't even opened yet and the lineup is now 9, 10, 11, & 12 AM. Nice, because I haven't been at work all day and don't have a long night ahead of me the next day. So, yeah, I don't mind being out until 1AM. Sure. Go ahead. But looking at the sandwich board and seeing that Gene Dreamy, Gary Sincere & the Pets are one act and Turing Machine isn't on the bill at all, I had to stop and say, "Oh, yeah. Notekillers are on this. And I've been looking forward to that one."
OK. I'm old. I admit it. DJ Fleetwood Mac is one of those digital/iPod DJs who sat on a stool onstage and played stuff I've never heard before. I'm not sure how this makes you a DJ but if you're onstage you should be standing up. Still, I kept wishing he'd get all scratchy with it and, you know, DO SOMETHING. At one point he had his shoes off. People were going up to him, so I guess he was taking requests. At the end of his "set," he actually got applause when he unplugged his iPod.
Gene Dreamy and Gary Sincere sound like names of 50s rock stars or movie stars, but they actually grew up on a compound where the boys were raised by women and men raised the girls. Their set was songs all about their childhood memories on the compound and their mothers, one of whom was a transvestite. Yeah. They had some good pop sounds so they're capable of writing pop music so I don't know why they had to have this whole story behind them. Oh, right. It's not a story. Or a shtick. It's real life.
Watching the Notekillers felt like I was watching a ping-pong tournament. The bass player had a lucite bass that he played like a guitar, only at breakneck speed and he was on the left, the guitar player on the right, drummer in the middle. The bass player and guitar player were dueling each other with their drummer as the anchor in their all-instro pieces. This must be the stuff they play when they hypnotize or brainwash someone. Dizzying. I can't imagine what this was like for someone without earplugs in.
The last time I saw Enon, I'm pretty sure the gal from Blonde Redhead was in the band. I know it's been a while, but to me, they sounded completely different from what I remember. This is what I meant by it's been too long and maybe I shouldn't go. With the addition of Toko Yasuda's lush, dreamy, swirly vocals, the music feels like it was written for her. The Enon I remember was full of electronic swagger, as in one of their encore songs, "Rubber Car," off Believo!
Since I was in the nabe I then headed over to Motor City but when I went up Ludlow and passed CakeShop, I wanted cake. I'd been meaning to stop in there and try something but had never gotten around to it. I looked in; I couldn't tell if it was closed and it was pretty late. I assumed the bakery part closed down when the shows ended but I didn't know when that was for that night. Since it was so late to begin with, I stayed only long enough for Roger to tell me that the new band is Somos Demonios, meaning we're possessed--or my guess we're demons. Still, I wasn't too far off and that's still cool and kinda subversive. And they found a great drummer....who can't play on Shabbos. Which sounds like a drummer only Scott and Roger could find. Note to self: Act surprised when Scott tells me this.
CakeShop was still open and serving cake. I went for the double chocolate brownie. It's vegan, as is a lot of treats I saw on display, and therefore I was expecting it to be like a Snackwells--y'know, good but lacking the fat/calories/cholesterol/or whatever and you can tell something's missing. This was evil in a square. Moist and chocolatey. CakeShop: It's not just for shows.
I get to 2nd Ave. to find that there's no uptown F and I'd have to go to Jay St. and back. When the F came applause broke out and even though I wasn't waiting long, that can't be a good sign. I got on the F and ended up across from a guy who asked me where I was headed and I told him home to my family and he said he hoped to go with me. I picked up the discarded Wonderword and when I found my pen in my bag, the guy asked if I was taking my pen out so I could take down his number. "I don't think my boyfriend would like that." He tells me he has a girl. Now you'd think an asshole like that would do anything in his power to hold onto that girl but no. I was afraid to look up in case he had it in his hand. He got off at W4--maybe he had to or maybe he couldn't harrass me in front of an audience.
I got back and saw the cellphone on the table and wrote down two numbers right before the battery went out. Tried both the next morning--yesterday. High-pitched beeps in my ear and that's it. Kept trying the numbers, same thing. That's weird. I feel bad. I shouldn't have gotten involved. But I usually have luck in reuniting phones and owners. Oh well. Klutz should keep a closer eye on his stuff.
Mercury Lounge//8/19/05
Funny, but I haven't seen Enon since I started seeing The Spunk Lads. I'm not speaking figuratively--that's exactly how it happened. I used to see Enon at the Merc and Brownies. I have Believo!, their 1st CD, and that's it. I remember when the disc came out. Got it at Maxwell's when Enon opened for Man Or Astroman?. Yeah, pretty sure that was it.
Enon was the 1st band on the bill for the 1st Siren. July 21, 2001. I wanted to be there to see them but figured I'd have to leave mad early to get down to Coney Island by 11:30 and besides, I also wanted to see MOAM?, who went on in the afternoon and I wouldn't've had the energy in the heat.
That same evening I caught The Spunk Lads for the 1st time and after that, it just seemed that Enon and I were traveling in different orbits. Funny, also, that now--4 years later, The Spunk Lads have broken up and Enon is back at the Mercury Lounge. I even considered not going. It's just that it's been too long. What's the point? But how could I not go? It's only $10. Besides, I could always chalk it up to another stop on the birthday blowout.
Enon is now on Touch & Go--my fave record label when I was in college, home to MOAM?, Brainiac, GVSB, and the Dirty 3. How could I not have known that? Or maybe I did but since I've been busy with other bands, it just slipped my mind. I do know they have other albums out. I checked out the Notekillers: their S/T album is circa 1977-81.
Thing is, the Merc site only had Enon and the Notekillers listed for that night for the longest. I read (I can't remember where) that Turing Machine was supposed to be on the bill. The Voice review even reviewed Turing Machine. And is Gene Dreamy and Gary Sincere (who I have seen listed around) a separate act from the Pets, because I've never seen a listing for "Gene Dreamy, Gary Sincere & The Pets?" And what the hell am I doing about CMJ? And my money? And my life? And this site?
The doors were at 8 and DJ Fleetwood Mac (oy) on at 8:30, said the tix. I left late and had to stop at the ATM and sitting there on the counter was a cellphone. Don't get involved, I tell myself. You don't have time to do track someone down until tomorrow and by then the owner will have cut the service or the battery will have run out, and they'll get another phone. Well, then I can drop it off for recycling at Staples. Still, I ran the phone upstairs because what if it goes off at the show and I didn't know how to silence it beforehand. I don't want to be that person whose phone rings at a show and I'd be really embarrassed.
I got there at 8:10 to find that the doors haven't even opened yet and the lineup is now 9, 10, 11, & 12 AM. Nice, because I haven't been at work all day and don't have a long night ahead of me the next day. So, yeah, I don't mind being out until 1AM. Sure. Go ahead. But looking at the sandwich board and seeing that Gene Dreamy, Gary Sincere & the Pets are one act and Turing Machine isn't on the bill at all, I had to stop and say, "Oh, yeah. Notekillers are on this. And I've been looking forward to that one."
OK. I'm old. I admit it. DJ Fleetwood Mac is one of those digital/iPod DJs who sat on a stool onstage and played stuff I've never heard before. I'm not sure how this makes you a DJ but if you're onstage you should be standing up. Still, I kept wishing he'd get all scratchy with it and, you know, DO SOMETHING. At one point he had his shoes off. People were going up to him, so I guess he was taking requests. At the end of his "set," he actually got applause when he unplugged his iPod.
Gene Dreamy and Gary Sincere sound like names of 50s rock stars or movie stars, but they actually grew up on a compound where the boys were raised by women and men raised the girls. Their set was songs all about their childhood memories on the compound and their mothers, one of whom was a transvestite. Yeah. They had some good pop sounds so they're capable of writing pop music so I don't know why they had to have this whole story behind them. Oh, right. It's not a story. Or a shtick. It's real life.
Watching the Notekillers felt like I was watching a ping-pong tournament. The bass player had a lucite bass that he played like a guitar, only at breakneck speed and he was on the left, the guitar player on the right, drummer in the middle. The bass player and guitar player were dueling each other with their drummer as the anchor in their all-instro pieces. This must be the stuff they play when they hypnotize or brainwash someone. Dizzying. I can't imagine what this was like for someone without earplugs in.
The last time I saw Enon, I'm pretty sure the gal from Blonde Redhead was in the band. I know it's been a while, but to me, they sounded completely different from what I remember. This is what I meant by it's been too long and maybe I shouldn't go. With the addition of Toko Yasuda's lush, dreamy, swirly vocals, the music feels like it was written for her. The Enon I remember was full of electronic swagger, as in one of their encore songs, "Rubber Car," off Believo!
Since I was in the nabe I then headed over to Motor City but when I went up Ludlow and passed CakeShop, I wanted cake. I'd been meaning to stop in there and try something but had never gotten around to it. I looked in; I couldn't tell if it was closed and it was pretty late. I assumed the bakery part closed down when the shows ended but I didn't know when that was for that night. Since it was so late to begin with, I stayed only long enough for Roger to tell me that the new band is Somos Demonios, meaning we're possessed--or my guess we're demons. Still, I wasn't too far off and that's still cool and kinda subversive. And they found a great drummer....who can't play on Shabbos. Which sounds like a drummer only Scott and Roger could find. Note to self: Act surprised when Scott tells me this.
CakeShop was still open and serving cake. I went for the double chocolate brownie. It's vegan, as is a lot of treats I saw on display, and therefore I was expecting it to be like a Snackwells--y'know, good but lacking the fat/calories/cholesterol/or whatever and you can tell something's missing. This was evil in a square. Moist and chocolatey. CakeShop: It's not just for shows.
I get to 2nd Ave. to find that there's no uptown F and I'd have to go to Jay St. and back. When the F came applause broke out and even though I wasn't waiting long, that can't be a good sign. I got on the F and ended up across from a guy who asked me where I was headed and I told him home to my family and he said he hoped to go with me. I picked up the discarded Wonderword and when I found my pen in my bag, the guy asked if I was taking my pen out so I could take down his number. "I don't think my boyfriend would like that." He tells me he has a girl. Now you'd think an asshole like that would do anything in his power to hold onto that girl but no. I was afraid to look up in case he had it in his hand. He got off at W4--maybe he had to or maybe he couldn't harrass me in front of an audience.
I got back and saw the cellphone on the table and wrote down two numbers right before the battery went out. Tried both the next morning--yesterday. High-pitched beeps in my ear and that's it. Kept trying the numbers, same thing. That's weird. I feel bad. I shouldn't have gotten involved. But I usually have luck in reuniting phones and owners. Oh well. Klutz should keep a closer eye on his stuff.
posted by heather @ 11:29 PM
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