Rack and Soul

I had wondered where Eli "Paperboy" Reed's old-school soul (myspace) might land him.  Since that Union Hall show he's had New York dates at Irving Plaza opening for an emo act (btw In Defense of the Genre is probably the worst album title I've ever heard EVER), a record-release party at hoity-toity Joe's Pub, and now this here cost-nothin' Big Apple BBQ appearance.  A properly egalitarian itinerary, good for the places where he's found and the folks who find him there.

Sandwiched between a passable local comic country act and distinguished Canadian twangers The Sadies, it might have been too hot for Reed and his True Loves to go *splat* the way they can, but they made people very happy nonetheless.

It would be nice if he got out from behind that guitar more often, and the band should wear suits.  But it was hot.  And it's not like I'm going to dress up, even under the best of circumstances.  And "Take My Love with You" is just a killer tune, no matter what it's wearing.

*

The Crooners (myspace) were having a blast just off the park in the "Bourbon Bar."  I haven't taken any band pics for a while; the close quarters - the trio was doing the bluegrass thing, huddled around a single mic - and their energy made snapping fun.  Though, as usual, the "fun" photos all wound up blurry.  These make 'em look more serious then they was.  But I really like the one above.

*

Alex Battles & The Whisky Rebellion (myspace) has a guy who plays a washboard/coffee can/cowbell (with photo of Christopher Walken!)/mini cymbal/desk bell with whisks.  (They're whisky, yuk-yuk.)

*

No, I didn't eat anything.  Whoever made up the entry banner - "Welcome ‘Cue Lovers" - had obvs grabbed the wrong homophone.

I left before The Sadies because of the time and the weather.  God punished me by striking the F train down with a power outage, and by letting the MTA be its usual uncommunicative disaster.  At one point, it seemed like they were telling people looking to go south of 2nd Avenue to take the D train all the way out to Coney Island to catch a Manhattan-bound F.  At Jay Street, I found people who had been waiting thirty minutes for a train they hadn't yet been told wasn't running.  Took three hours, three trains and a bus (ugh) to get home.

For all the bitching about the heat, this weekend wasn't that bad.  Hot, sure.  But the humidity was tolerable and the air kept moving.  Got warm early - it's not even summer, yet - but this isn't emotionally scarring three-showers-a-day stuff.

I wrote that last paragraph while sitting four and a half feet from a busy air conditioning unit.

More pictures at Flickr and Vegan

tags: eli paperboy reed  big apple bbq  the crooners  

links: digg this    del.icio.us    reddit