It's not because I've been incredibly busy or anything, just pretty lazy. I've been seeing some fun shows, listening to some good stuff and getting ready for a great week.
A bit of catching up...
Started the month helping a friend move in the midst of a blizzard. Next day I went hardcore with Sick Of It All and Madball in a sweaty little mess of a show on a snowy night. I'll freely admit I'm not a huge hardcore guy or anything but it's always good to see impecably tight musicians playing to a full house of fans who know all the words and go nuts for every song on the set list, showing off all the ways they know to dance. There are so many shows these days with lifeless crowds who just sit and stare, which works for some music, but really sucks the life out of something as visceral as a good rock show.
I ended up sick in bed after that which led me to watch the first season of Damages. It's a great show, there's plenty of twists and plot devices but they're far more credible than anything you'll see in the movies these days (Fracture, I'm looking at you). It's not going to replace The Shield in my must watch list, or contend with The Wire as far as being completely mindblowing but with those series ending I have to keep my eyes open for new things.
I know I did some other stuff, likely drank a bit much sometimes and eventually had Valentine's sneak up on me. I spent it with a lovely lady... while she is not my lady it was a nice evening to see a long awaited Nina Nastasia show. Local boy Ken Reaume opened the night in a very nice way, reminds me subtley of Elliot Smith, but with nylon string guitar as the weapon of choice. His style and approach really manage to make him really stand out from the usual guy with a guitar singer/songwriter, highly recommended by me (for whatever that's worth). The main problem with Ken and Nina's sets were outside of their control, they were playing the El Mocambo which had another band playing upstairs and when you have so solo singers with acoustic guitars you can't drown out the bleed through of crappy music. In spite of that, Nina's set was still a very beautiful thing, there's just something in her voice that makes you feel like she means every line she sings and never considers going through the motions. It sort of feels intrusive to be watching her as it appears she is simply playing, and not for the sake of those who came to see her but more in service of the songs. Definitely a different crowd from the Sick Of It All show but the performances were equally intense.
I'll be heading East to see my lovely lady very soon, so I may or may not be around here. Either way, here's some tunes.
Nina Nastasia - Why Don't You Stay Home? (Daytrotter Session)
and in honour of Valentine's past The Rentals - The Last Romantic Day
