Another DJ gig at the Magnetic Field

Last night was another DJ gig for me at the Magnetic Field. I opened with Sleeper's "Sale of the Century" and threw in some Suede, Stone Roses, Pulp, Franz Ferdinand, Verve, Doves, Lush, Catherine Wheel, On Air Library!, and others before ending with a remix of Starsailor's "Four on the Floor." There were about 30 people there and no evil stares, so I think it went well.

This is Camden

When will shoegazer return?

I've been listening to a lot of Slowdive recently, particularly their Live in Oslo 1993 bootleg and Souvlaki Space Station, and I really hope that shoegazer starts to make a comeback. There are a couple of bands getting some buzz that have a shoegazer sound - Asobi Seksu, The Winter Pageant, and The Radio Dept. - and with shoegazing hero Kevin Shields raising his visibility (see the Lost in Translation soundtrack), I'm hoping that we'll have a full-on return to effects pedals and feedback.

"Sway"-ing to the Smiths

Sunday night at Sway is The Smiths/Morrissey night and it's a great time. All the cool downtown hipsters shake it to Moz and Johnny. I never thought that I'd ever hear "My Love Life" in public. If you're ever in NYC on a Sunday night, this is worth checking out.

Kasabian at the Bowery Ballroom

The Kasabian show last night in one word: awesome. They came out and just rocked. And they had a good time doing it. This was Kasabian's first show in the U.S., and they promise to come back in 2005 when their album is released in the States. They had a little of the early 90's Manchester vibe, with nice feedback and beats. "Processed Beats" and "Clubfoot" were probably the highlights.

You should definitley buy their debut when it's released and see them in 2005!

The DJ debut

I spun some tunes in public for the first time last night, over at The Magnetic Field in Brooklyn. I think it went well. In my 40 minute set, I threw out some Blur, Oasis, Joy Division (a great Peel session version of Love Will Tear Us Apart), New Order, Lush, the Veldt, Ride, Ian Brown, and Kasabian. Not a big crowd and no one danced, but one couple did make out during "Chrome Waves" by Ride and I like to think that I had something to do with that.

Interpol at The Hammerstein - November 12, 2004

I saw Interpol last Friday night and it was the biggest crowd that I've seen at an Interpol concert. Unfortunately, I was stuck close to the back of the crowd. Good, but not great, show. Although they are not that animated usually, they were even less so this time. They played a good mix of songs from both albums, but they didn't play my favorites - "The Specialist" and "Obstacle 2." Two encores though and probably the longest set that I've seen Interpol play.

I shook Peter Hook's hand!

I've been in London for the past couple of days and had the pleasure of attending Get Loaded's "An audience with Tony Wilson and Shaun Ryder" at Turnmills. This brilliant event was an interactive discussion between Wilson (Factory Records), Ryder (Happy Mondays and Black Grape), and Peter Hook (Joy Division and New Order), with Clint Boon (Inspiral Carpets) moderating. Really it was a conversation about the glorious Manchester past between those who created it. The crowd was involved as well, asking numerous questions. Following the discussion, Wilson, Hook, Ryder, and Boon all did DJ sets. During the dj sets, I had the pleasure of shaking both Tony Wilson's and Peter Hook's hand. Unbelievable - two of the most important figures in music history.

What I find most interesting about British musicians and their fans is that they all get on so well - as if they're all in on it together. The discussion seemed not like a lecture but more of a conversation between "mates." I don't think you get the same feeling in America, where famous musicians are put on a pedastal and and away from their fans.

Numerous interesting comments were made during the discussion, including:

• Tony Wilson on why he passed on signing the Stone Roses: "They dressed badly."
• The group on 24 Hour Party People: "It was a pack of lies!" This was said, however, with tongue in cheek, as they went on to explain many of the stories from the movie.
• Shaun Ryder to Tony Wilson on the downfall of the Happy Mondays: "The last album would have been great if you let Oakenfold produce it, instead of spending your money on shit guitar scabs!" Retorted Wilson, "if you hadn't spent the money on drugs, it would have worked out fine."
• The group on John Peel: from Wilson, "John Peel was great back when he was promoting Joy Division, but after he started doing Smart adverts, I lost respect for him." Ryder shot back, "but Tony, you do the NEWS! That's even worse than adverts." Wilson, "But it's not advertising Shaun. Would you do advertising?" Ryder snickers, "I'd do anything for money!" Ryder then reminded Wilson that Peel would promote the Happy Mondays, "he gave us our first session." In the end, Wilson capitulated, "ok, fine, John Peel was brilliant."
• The group on former Mondays' back-up singer Rowetta: Ryder, "she was a lunatic. After 'Step On,' she should have been on every house record in the late 80's but everyone thought she was crazy." Wilson, "yes, she had an incredible voice, but was in fact crazy." After a discussion on how many people she slept with ("she fucked everybody!" including Ryder), Wilson asked the crowd to raise their hands if they had not slept with Rowetta - and numerous hands shot up.
• Wilson to Hook: "I've recently been listening to the songs loaded on my laptop and 'The Perfect Kiss' came on, and I thought that the high-fretted bass playing at the end was probably the most brilliant bass playing I've heard and I just wanted to say thank you to Hooky for that."

A truly incredible night for music fans and I was happy to be a part of it.

Joy Division Peel Sessions

I've recently been turning to my various Peel Sessions, and started listening to my two Joy Division Peel Sessions. Quite often, the Peel Session is better than the band's album track, and I think that's definitely the case with Joy Division's "Insight." I also love the Peel Session version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart," with more of a fast, dancier beat to it. It's such a shame that we will no longer have Mr. Peel to provide us with his sessions.