The Annex Sucks!
Tiswas 2.0 feat. The Mooney Suzuki//The Annex//3/4/06
I had no idea what time to even get there, all I knew was 11:00. So is it that there's some big dance party and TMS takes the stage @ 11, or the doors are 1st @ 11, or what? I was afraid that my showing up in time to be up front was going to be thwarted by subway silliness, stuck waiting around for the E @ Queens Plaza and then hearing that there was a water main break. And I love how they try to make it so dramatic. "Ladies and gentlemen, due to a water main break." And that's it. What, you've already drowned? The subway is not running? Nothing's stopping at whatever stop I'm at? I have to go back and start all over again? Though I was seriously considering going back home, not just because it's been howling wind all day, but I've been trying to get my place cleared up so I can get the computer in, but all I managed to do was veg and throw a few things out. Not the book, not yet, though, and I was crying on the subway before landing at Queens Plaza.
At 2nd Ave. there was a girl in a miniskirt, fishnets, and knee socks clacking out ahead of me in her stilettos, stopping at the corner of Houston/Allen and yelling into her cell. That coffee shop next to American Apparel has closed. That didn't last very long. A couple'a months, maybe? Walking down Orchard St., I considered turning around and going to the Merc for Satanicide. The Annex is right around the corner from Arlene's. There's no number outside, but there's no mistaking it, or thinking it's anything but a club. The facade is black glass brick and there's a red light above the double wooden doors. It looks like some catering hall from the outside. I can only imagine how ridiculous and out of place this place looks by daylight. It's hard to imagine a place like this below 14th St. Hell, below 34th St. Not exactly what comes to mind for a place called The Annex. There were 2 bouncers outside, one guy in leather pants, leather vest, fur coat and hat, and one in a suit with a phone piece over his ear. "What is this place?" remarks a passerby. Also, since I've never been there before, I had no idea if it's one of those places where you have to dress a certain way or have a certain look or they won't let you in. (Concert Joe told me he tried to see a show I think it was at Fat Baby or maybe it was The Annex and they told him there was no show going on. So I thought that for sure they'd let a woman in, but then again I don't exactly have that hipster look and they'd sooner let a young woman in than me. And he told me that he's on the list @ Southie and any time I want to see a show there on his mandatory visitation days with his kids, I should show them his card and they'd let me in in his place. Yeah, thanks, but if I can't get into a venue on my own after all this time, I'd rather pay the money.)
At about 20 after 10 the furry guard tells us to form one line. Then the other one tells us to form 2 lines so that we don't crowd the sidewalks. They check IDs and then 2 guys come up and try to get in. Uh, yeah, get in line. They continue to hover so they can cut us all off, but then again, I didn't have to worry because everyone would head to the bar 1st. Which is exactly what happened. Man, that place was weird. The venue that must be referred to in boldface still had that new venue smell inside, you can still smell the varnish on the wood paneling. There are about 4 semicirlce booths/tables across from the bar. The DJ table was set up next to them. There's an upstairs lounge. It looks like a hotel bar. Say what you will about the quality of the acts at CBGB, but that's closing and this soulless place exists? It looks like a lounge and the live music aspect is an afterthought. The stage isn't very wide. Behind the bar is Ian from Some Action. Classic. Which makes me wonder if the other guy is (was? is?) a Starspangle. I guess in 2 years somebody from whatever LES hipster haircut band will be tending bar at the next hot venue. And it's too dark to read. But the five steps up to the stage is a hollow staircase. Hello, coatcheck. I couldn't take it anymore and sat on the floor doing a Wonderword. I'm sure somebody from a real blog will make fun of me on theirs. The only music I recognized was Le Tigre and Tears For Fears' Head Over Heels. C'mon already! They've gotten around to playing the ironic 80s song, so let's go already!
The stage is 4 1/2 people wide. You could fit an extra person in, but that night there was a stack of monitors so you couldn't. The guy to my right was talking to some girl and he had his back to me, arm on the stage, sprawled out. "He's totally crowding you out," commented a girl in a Diesel dress who has seen me at shows @ The Bowery Ballroom for the past 6 months. Because she's blonde, guys start talking to her and the two yahoos behind me tell her they were in Hoboken in the morning for their St. Pat's parade, but the bars were packed by 10:30 and they couldn't get in so they spent the morning drinking in a parking lot and jumping around to stay warm. Oh, yeah, that's this weekend. Holy shit, it's been a year since I went to that mess. I just stared at all the guitar pedals, tempted to start touching them, I was so bored.
The Mooney Suzuki is back where it all started, playing Tiswas. Anybody remember Coney Island High? said TMS's website. "The first time Graham Tyler played a gig with us was @ Tiswas upstairs @ Coney Island High, in 1997. Right before we went on, somebody either slit their wrists or overdosed in the bathroom and we had to wait for them to be paramedicked out before we could start. In retrospect it was an omen for The Mooney Suzuki." They started at midnite and with the height of the stage, I had a nice view of Sammy's white patent leather shoes and if I looked up, up his nose. They did a lot of "what the music industry calls 'new shit.' So if you like shit, and you like new shit, you'll like this shit." Yeah, I kinda count Alive & Amplified as new shit as well since I kinda stopped paying close attention after Electric Sweat. The vocals were hard to hear, I didn't recognize anyone in the crowd, (I haven't for a while) but speaking of electric sweat, I don't get their bundled-up look. Shirts buttoned up to the neck, scarves, blazers? Wouldn't that get in the way of the rawk and the sweat? This is a band that used to be completely drenched in sweat at the end of a show. Shouldn't they be shedding the blazers during their set? Rolling up sleeves? Sam climbed to the top of the monitors, touched the ceiling, and the crowd behind me held up their hands to catch him as the monitors shook, but he climbed down. They only played for 50 mins, and there were 2 new shits still on the list. Right after their set, the DJs played Hazy Shade Of Winter, which was sorta appropriate.
Back down on Orchard St. there's a mix of places out of business and jumping. A lot of those boutique stores with plain clothes that are probably expensive. Construction sites. On a lightpost is a flier for a show @ Cakeshop--152 Ludlow. The Annex is 152 Orchard. Orchard Street is the new Ludlow. Wait a minute, didn't The Spunk Lads play outdoors on Orchard Street in 2002? I just thought of this now. Actually, I was about to make some wistful comment about how the pushcart vendors of the old Lower East Side would never have imagined any of this and that's what made me remember that.
Anyway, when I got off the E and looked behind me, there was the 2nd Ave. stiletto girl. Weird. She was with a group of stilettoed friends and they all clacked their way out of the station. If it weren't for The Mooney Suzuki playing there I wouldn't have gone there. Y'know what sucks the most about The Annex? How weird it is to say "Annex sucks" because both words kinda have the same ending-sound and your mouth trips up.
Well, mine does.
I had no idea what time to even get there, all I knew was 11:00. So is it that there's some big dance party and TMS takes the stage @ 11, or the doors are 1st @ 11, or what? I was afraid that my showing up in time to be up front was going to be thwarted by subway silliness, stuck waiting around for the E @ Queens Plaza and then hearing that there was a water main break. And I love how they try to make it so dramatic. "Ladies and gentlemen, due to a water main break." And that's it. What, you've already drowned? The subway is not running? Nothing's stopping at whatever stop I'm at? I have to go back and start all over again? Though I was seriously considering going back home, not just because it's been howling wind all day, but I've been trying to get my place cleared up so I can get the computer in, but all I managed to do was veg and throw a few things out. Not the book, not yet, though, and I was crying on the subway before landing at Queens Plaza.
At 2nd Ave. there was a girl in a miniskirt, fishnets, and knee socks clacking out ahead of me in her stilettos, stopping at the corner of Houston/Allen and yelling into her cell. That coffee shop next to American Apparel has closed. That didn't last very long. A couple'a months, maybe? Walking down Orchard St., I considered turning around and going to the Merc for Satanicide. The Annex is right around the corner from Arlene's. There's no number outside, but there's no mistaking it, or thinking it's anything but a club. The facade is black glass brick and there's a red light above the double wooden doors. It looks like some catering hall from the outside. I can only imagine how ridiculous and out of place this place looks by daylight. It's hard to imagine a place like this below 14th St. Hell, below 34th St. Not exactly what comes to mind for a place called The Annex. There were 2 bouncers outside, one guy in leather pants, leather vest, fur coat and hat, and one in a suit with a phone piece over his ear. "What is this place?" remarks a passerby. Also, since I've never been there before, I had no idea if it's one of those places where you have to dress a certain way or have a certain look or they won't let you in. (Concert Joe told me he tried to see a show I think it was at Fat Baby or maybe it was The Annex and they told him there was no show going on. So I thought that for sure they'd let a woman in, but then again I don't exactly have that hipster look and they'd sooner let a young woman in than me. And he told me that he's on the list @ Southie and any time I want to see a show there on his mandatory visitation days with his kids, I should show them his card and they'd let me in in his place. Yeah, thanks, but if I can't get into a venue on my own after all this time, I'd rather pay the money.)
At about 20 after 10 the furry guard tells us to form one line. Then the other one tells us to form 2 lines so that we don't crowd the sidewalks. They check IDs and then 2 guys come up and try to get in. Uh, yeah, get in line. They continue to hover so they can cut us all off, but then again, I didn't have to worry because everyone would head to the bar 1st. Which is exactly what happened. Man, that place was weird. The venue that must be referred to in boldface still had that new venue smell inside, you can still smell the varnish on the wood paneling. There are about 4 semicirlce booths/tables across from the bar. The DJ table was set up next to them. There's an upstairs lounge. It looks like a hotel bar. Say what you will about the quality of the acts at CBGB, but that's closing and this soulless place exists? It looks like a lounge and the live music aspect is an afterthought. The stage isn't very wide. Behind the bar is Ian from Some Action. Classic. Which makes me wonder if the other guy is (was? is?) a Starspangle. I guess in 2 years somebody from whatever LES hipster haircut band will be tending bar at the next hot venue. And it's too dark to read. But the five steps up to the stage is a hollow staircase. Hello, coatcheck. I couldn't take it anymore and sat on the floor doing a Wonderword. I'm sure somebody from a real blog will make fun of me on theirs. The only music I recognized was Le Tigre and Tears For Fears' Head Over Heels. C'mon already! They've gotten around to playing the ironic 80s song, so let's go already!
The stage is 4 1/2 people wide. You could fit an extra person in, but that night there was a stack of monitors so you couldn't. The guy to my right was talking to some girl and he had his back to me, arm on the stage, sprawled out. "He's totally crowding you out," commented a girl in a Diesel dress who has seen me at shows @ The Bowery Ballroom for the past 6 months. Because she's blonde, guys start talking to her and the two yahoos behind me tell her they were in Hoboken in the morning for their St. Pat's parade, but the bars were packed by 10:30 and they couldn't get in so they spent the morning drinking in a parking lot and jumping around to stay warm. Oh, yeah, that's this weekend. Holy shit, it's been a year since I went to that mess. I just stared at all the guitar pedals, tempted to start touching them, I was so bored.
The Mooney Suzuki is back where it all started, playing Tiswas. Anybody remember Coney Island High? said TMS's website. "The first time Graham Tyler played a gig with us was @ Tiswas upstairs @ Coney Island High, in 1997. Right before we went on, somebody either slit their wrists or overdosed in the bathroom and we had to wait for them to be paramedicked out before we could start. In retrospect it was an omen for The Mooney Suzuki." They started at midnite and with the height of the stage, I had a nice view of Sammy's white patent leather shoes and if I looked up, up his nose. They did a lot of "what the music industry calls 'new shit.' So if you like shit, and you like new shit, you'll like this shit." Yeah, I kinda count Alive & Amplified as new shit as well since I kinda stopped paying close attention after Electric Sweat. The vocals were hard to hear, I didn't recognize anyone in the crowd, (I haven't for a while) but speaking of electric sweat, I don't get their bundled-up look. Shirts buttoned up to the neck, scarves, blazers? Wouldn't that get in the way of the rawk and the sweat? This is a band that used to be completely drenched in sweat at the end of a show. Shouldn't they be shedding the blazers during their set? Rolling up sleeves? Sam climbed to the top of the monitors, touched the ceiling, and the crowd behind me held up their hands to catch him as the monitors shook, but he climbed down. They only played for 50 mins, and there were 2 new shits still on the list. Right after their set, the DJs played Hazy Shade Of Winter, which was sorta appropriate.
Back down on Orchard St. there's a mix of places out of business and jumping. A lot of those boutique stores with plain clothes that are probably expensive. Construction sites. On a lightpost is a flier for a show @ Cakeshop--152 Ludlow. The Annex is 152 Orchard. Orchard Street is the new Ludlow. Wait a minute, didn't The Spunk Lads play outdoors on Orchard Street in 2002? I just thought of this now. Actually, I was about to make some wistful comment about how the pushcart vendors of the old Lower East Side would never have imagined any of this and that's what made me remember that.
Anyway, when I got off the E and looked behind me, there was the 2nd Ave. stiletto girl. Weird. She was with a group of stilettoed friends and they all clacked their way out of the station. If it weren't for The Mooney Suzuki playing there I wouldn't have gone there. Y'know what sucks the most about The Annex? How weird it is to say "Annex sucks" because both words kinda have the same ending-sound and your mouth trips up.
Well, mine does.
posted by heather @ 2:03 PM
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