Brooklyn Boys Just Break Yr Heart
RebelMart/Les Sans @ Freddy's Backroom, 3/29/06
(There are many pix more classic than this one that I could've gone with, admittedly, but I wanted one that was taken @ Freddy's. Actually, the pic I wanted to use is a great shot of Scott sitting in front of the front window @ Freddy's writing a setlist, but I couldn't find the disk. I don't have a scanner and coulda gone to Kinko's, but I'm broke. And I don't know how to use a scanner. Second choice was the one where he's uncorking a bottle of champagne on NYE because, hell, that's also a great shot, but I wanted a pic of Scott where he's playing Scott.)
Brooklyn bard Scott MX Turner almost ran for beep of his beloved borough. I tried to be supportive and all, so I never told him that as much as the political world needs him, the music world does, too. I can't remember what point in The Spunk Lads' tumultuous reunion this was, but I was thinking, Yeah, that's nice of you, but what about your music? Then again, if anyone could convince Ratner to leave Brooklyn the fuck alone it would be Scott. He managed to convince me that I'm a rock critic, a decent enough photographer, and my "a funny thing happened on the way to/at/back from the gig" ramblings are a book rather than hundreds of pages printed out. And then when he told me that he's bringing his joie d'vivre to Brooklyn transplants Les Sans Culottes, I thought, but I'd never tell him, (see, I am learning) Yeah, that's nice of you, but what about your music? I'm sure I'm not the only person who thought that, so tonite's RebelMart show is the answer we've all been waiting/hoping for.
After spending a good amount of time and mmoney taking care of business on a PC @ Kinko's, I then needed a design station PC and the ones on 7th Ave were either broken or being used. So I ran down to 21/6th and spent more time and money trying to teach myself to use a scanner--and quickly. I was done a little after 7 and I figured all was good because Scott was going on @ 9:30. Right? Why am I thinking this isn't right? I wondered as I headed up the block to the subway. So I turned right back around and double-checked. 9PM. Shit. By the time I get home it would be 8 and then I have to turn around and head out on 3 subways and hope they were running w/o problems. Go straight to Freddy's? But I want to put my bag down. But what am I supposed to do until the show starts? I thought I could at least catch a nap on the subway. But that's cutting it close and I'll be running around. Hit the ATM and get a sandwich? But I have so much stuff coming up and leftovers at home. At some point a voice in my head points out that it's not gonna start exactly at 9, but since when do I listen to the voices in my head--especially when they make sense, especially when I think I'm going to be late for shows I've been psyching up for. I froze again at 23rd and deliberated right outside the subway station. I went home.
I probably should've taken the F coming 1st at Jackson Heights as a sign but I guess I was making myself distraught right from the get-go. A cop gets on and tries to rouse a homeless man schlumped over on himself. "Sir! Sir, are you okay? Get up!" and I'm thinking, don't stop the train over this. Of course the guy across from me has his backpack on the 2-seater next to him and the cop doesn't bat an eye. I land at 14th St in record time; almost 8:30 by my watch but by the time I walk thru to the 2/3 and hope all the rerouting on that line is going to take place late at nite or over the weekend, the clock says 8:36. I like living dangerously, I tell myself as soon as I hit the platform, then lean over to check for train lights. Ok, and from here it's only, what, 4 stops. Perfect timing. I'm good. but it's really 4 stops to Brooklyn, then 5 stops in Brooklyn. Shit. But a few of those stops are really quick and close together. I tell myself again that the show isn't starting exactly at 9, but I guess I was just worked up about getting there, being there, and seeing Scott play. But the train crept out of Chambers at such a dramatically slow pace. It seemed like it took forever to move out of the station completely and by the time my car was out we were entering Park Place. I kept staring at the route list, looking at the clock display, worrying when it kept flashing the stop we're at, the stop coming, and then the time. We got to Atlantic at 9 and when I left the station, the Metrocard reader said 9:03. Upstairs, though, I realized my back was bothering me. Great. Walking up Pacific, I figured I must've been on the edge of my seat, literally, worried that I was going to miss something. Of course I was early, but my worry was understandable.
Maybe Scott should've run for boro prez after all. I mean, he cares about Brooklyn a hell of a lot more than the beep they've got now and he's not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve--whether the subject be Brooklyn, Ireland, baseball, politics, politics in Brooklyn and Ireland--as his solo work makes clear. As much as his songs stand perfectly fine on their own, they're that much better when he has a little help from his friends, whether it's Diane George playing tin whistle on Dragons Dancing or violin virtuoso Jeff on Devil Down In The Water. When he did his cover of Right Back Where We Started From, Scott said that the song was on the radio when he was in high school and if we know the song, we'd know the year. I know he mentioned the year in the liner notes and I realized that being w/o computer, I'm w/o a CD-Rom drive and I haven't listened to music in my apt. in months and I really should make an effort to make it over to my stereo. At that point Scott asked if we could guess what year it was that he was in HS and I could see his liner notes in my head but wasn't sure so I guessed '71 anyway. I was off by 5 and Scott was none-too-thrilled at my gaffe and then went on that I could've counted back or subtracted. As if I'm good in math. I tried to explain my being w/o computer and haven't been listening to music so I haven't looked at his liner notes in a while. (You'd think he'd be happy that I always remember when his bday is, even tho I forgot how old he is--as if I don't have enough stuff on my mind as it is. And he got books for his last 2 bdays, books that I don't even have copies of, and I wrote the damned things. You'd think he'd be happy that I've listened to his CD more than once and read his liner notes; I coulda just told him I liked the CD but really tossed it in a drawer w/o even listening to it. Or only listened to it once.) He closed with Town That I Loved So Well for me, accompanied by Diane and Jeff, complete with flubbed lines, Jeff's violin becoming unplugged and Benjoya cutting in front of my table to fix it and totally blocking my view and I asked them to start over but they didn't, and with Scott interrupting himself to go off on tangents and when they finished I requested that they do the song over. They still didn't. I guess I had that coming to me. And I'd also requested Right Back Where We Started From, so there.
(Acutally, I almost didn't use any pix because I had problems uploading this one and if I couldn't use both, I wasn't gonna use any. The new computer at work is like going from walking to having an Astin Martin, my ass. That, and I screwed something up when I installed the Kodak software. I won't tell if you won't.)
Les Sans, the acoustic version of Les Sans Culottes, was strange. First of all, mostly everyone in the band was seated, I was sitting, and Edith Pissoff was absent. (Per'aps back in France for the protests.) You were able to hear the lyrics better (or maybe it's just me; this was the 1st time I was able to forgo the earplugs) and people were laughing and I kept thinking, But they're not funny! They're fun! There's a difference! I felt like I was at a cafe. It was like the 2 train leaving Chambers; slow, but you got the feeling that they're gonna take off at any second and really go, because that's we expect from LSC. During their 1st song, I was thinking, Are their songs really that long? Cause they don't feel as long in the context of regular, plugged-in LSC. After Scott's set ended with Town That I Loved, I was in the mood to rock out and LSC was so laid-back that I ended up in a silly mood, perhaps from the rocking-out energy manifesting in a different way.
I'm sure The Red Barbers were glad that I couldn't stay for Stump The Band--I mean, Spontaneous Combustion. I had a few genres in mind, but after I requested that they sing in emo the last time around, they're probably glad I live out in Queens and had to head back. It was 0:03 when the train finally came and, well, we all know what happened next. Including my not getting the job.
(There are many pix more classic than this one that I could've gone with, admittedly, but I wanted one that was taken @ Freddy's. Actually, the pic I wanted to use is a great shot of Scott sitting in front of the front window @ Freddy's writing a setlist, but I couldn't find the disk. I don't have a scanner and coulda gone to Kinko's, but I'm broke. And I don't know how to use a scanner. Second choice was the one where he's uncorking a bottle of champagne on NYE because, hell, that's also a great shot, but I wanted a pic of Scott where he's playing Scott.)Brooklyn bard Scott MX Turner almost ran for beep of his beloved borough. I tried to be supportive and all, so I never told him that as much as the political world needs him, the music world does, too. I can't remember what point in The Spunk Lads' tumultuous reunion this was, but I was thinking, Yeah, that's nice of you, but what about your music? Then again, if anyone could convince Ratner to leave Brooklyn the fuck alone it would be Scott. He managed to convince me that I'm a rock critic, a decent enough photographer, and my "a funny thing happened on the way to/at/back from the gig" ramblings are a book rather than hundreds of pages printed out. And then when he told me that he's bringing his joie d'vivre to Brooklyn transplants Les Sans Culottes, I thought, but I'd never tell him, (see, I am learning) Yeah, that's nice of you, but what about your music? I'm sure I'm not the only person who thought that, so tonite's RebelMart show is the answer we've all been waiting/hoping for.
After spending a good amount of time and mmoney taking care of business on a PC @ Kinko's, I then needed a design station PC and the ones on 7th Ave were either broken or being used. So I ran down to 21/6th and spent more time and money trying to teach myself to use a scanner--and quickly. I was done a little after 7 and I figured all was good because Scott was going on @ 9:30. Right? Why am I thinking this isn't right? I wondered as I headed up the block to the subway. So I turned right back around and double-checked. 9PM. Shit. By the time I get home it would be 8 and then I have to turn around and head out on 3 subways and hope they were running w/o problems. Go straight to Freddy's? But I want to put my bag down. But what am I supposed to do until the show starts? I thought I could at least catch a nap on the subway. But that's cutting it close and I'll be running around. Hit the ATM and get a sandwich? But I have so much stuff coming up and leftovers at home. At some point a voice in my head points out that it's not gonna start exactly at 9, but since when do I listen to the voices in my head--especially when they make sense, especially when I think I'm going to be late for shows I've been psyching up for. I froze again at 23rd and deliberated right outside the subway station. I went home.
I probably should've taken the F coming 1st at Jackson Heights as a sign but I guess I was making myself distraught right from the get-go. A cop gets on and tries to rouse a homeless man schlumped over on himself. "Sir! Sir, are you okay? Get up!" and I'm thinking, don't stop the train over this. Of course the guy across from me has his backpack on the 2-seater next to him and the cop doesn't bat an eye. I land at 14th St in record time; almost 8:30 by my watch but by the time I walk thru to the 2/3 and hope all the rerouting on that line is going to take place late at nite or over the weekend, the clock says 8:36. I like living dangerously, I tell myself as soon as I hit the platform, then lean over to check for train lights. Ok, and from here it's only, what, 4 stops. Perfect timing. I'm good. but it's really 4 stops to Brooklyn, then 5 stops in Brooklyn. Shit. But a few of those stops are really quick and close together. I tell myself again that the show isn't starting exactly at 9, but I guess I was just worked up about getting there, being there, and seeing Scott play. But the train crept out of Chambers at such a dramatically slow pace. It seemed like it took forever to move out of the station completely and by the time my car was out we were entering Park Place. I kept staring at the route list, looking at the clock display, worrying when it kept flashing the stop we're at, the stop coming, and then the time. We got to Atlantic at 9 and when I left the station, the Metrocard reader said 9:03. Upstairs, though, I realized my back was bothering me. Great. Walking up Pacific, I figured I must've been on the edge of my seat, literally, worried that I was going to miss something. Of course I was early, but my worry was understandable.
Maybe Scott should've run for boro prez after all. I mean, he cares about Brooklyn a hell of a lot more than the beep they've got now and he's not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve--whether the subject be Brooklyn, Ireland, baseball, politics, politics in Brooklyn and Ireland--as his solo work makes clear. As much as his songs stand perfectly fine on their own, they're that much better when he has a little help from his friends, whether it's Diane George playing tin whistle on Dragons Dancing or violin virtuoso Jeff on Devil Down In The Water. When he did his cover of Right Back Where We Started From, Scott said that the song was on the radio when he was in high school and if we know the song, we'd know the year. I know he mentioned the year in the liner notes and I realized that being w/o computer, I'm w/o a CD-Rom drive and I haven't listened to music in my apt. in months and I really should make an effort to make it over to my stereo. At that point Scott asked if we could guess what year it was that he was in HS and I could see his liner notes in my head but wasn't sure so I guessed '71 anyway. I was off by 5 and Scott was none-too-thrilled at my gaffe and then went on that I could've counted back or subtracted. As if I'm good in math. I tried to explain my being w/o computer and haven't been listening to music so I haven't looked at his liner notes in a while. (You'd think he'd be happy that I always remember when his bday is, even tho I forgot how old he is--as if I don't have enough stuff on my mind as it is. And he got books for his last 2 bdays, books that I don't even have copies of, and I wrote the damned things. You'd think he'd be happy that I've listened to his CD more than once and read his liner notes; I coulda just told him I liked the CD but really tossed it in a drawer w/o even listening to it. Or only listened to it once.) He closed with Town That I Loved So Well for me, accompanied by Diane and Jeff, complete with flubbed lines, Jeff's violin becoming unplugged and Benjoya cutting in front of my table to fix it and totally blocking my view and I asked them to start over but they didn't, and with Scott interrupting himself to go off on tangents and when they finished I requested that they do the song over. They still didn't. I guess I had that coming to me. And I'd also requested Right Back Where We Started From, so there.
(Acutally, I almost didn't use any pix because I had problems uploading this one and if I couldn't use both, I wasn't gonna use any. The new computer at work is like going from walking to having an Astin Martin, my ass. That, and I screwed something up when I installed the Kodak software. I won't tell if you won't.) Les Sans, the acoustic version of Les Sans Culottes, was strange. First of all, mostly everyone in the band was seated, I was sitting, and Edith Pissoff was absent. (Per'aps back in France for the protests.) You were able to hear the lyrics better (or maybe it's just me; this was the 1st time I was able to forgo the earplugs) and people were laughing and I kept thinking, But they're not funny! They're fun! There's a difference! I felt like I was at a cafe. It was like the 2 train leaving Chambers; slow, but you got the feeling that they're gonna take off at any second and really go, because that's we expect from LSC. During their 1st song, I was thinking, Are their songs really that long? Cause they don't feel as long in the context of regular, plugged-in LSC. After Scott's set ended with Town That I Loved, I was in the mood to rock out and LSC was so laid-back that I ended up in a silly mood, perhaps from the rocking-out energy manifesting in a different way.
I'm sure The Red Barbers were glad that I couldn't stay for Stump The Band--I mean, Spontaneous Combustion. I had a few genres in mind, but after I requested that they sing in emo the last time around, they're probably glad I live out in Queens and had to head back. It was 0:03 when the train finally came and, well, we all know what happened next. Including my not getting the job.
posted by heather @ 6:35 PM
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