Gang Gang Dance and Grizzly Bear

Add to the bands I've seen:

Gang Gang Dance and Grizzly Bear: Skidmore College, Saratoga, NY

I went to this show knowing nothing about the opening act, Gang Gang Dance and being only slightly familiar with Grizzly Bear. Grizzly Bear for me falls into a category of lo-fi, ambient, interesting but not quite my thing type of slot in my musical panorama. I have listened fairly extensively to their album "Yellow House" but I've never been able to get much into it.

The Gang Gang set was incredible. Their neo-primitive, kind of tribal drum circle feel had me dancing and just feeling like I was meditating. The surreal atmosphere they created was phenomenal. It took some people a little while to get into it but after just a little while most of the crowd was dancing and having an awesome time.

Toward the last half an hour of their show this guy behind me started shoving me into the small girls in front of me causing me to shove them into the rail. He was sticking his elbows into my ribs as he was not even facing the stage, so I asked him to stop shoving me and he responded with "Shut up and just go hit on that girl or something." Thanks for the advice cock sucker. So I proceeded to push back and stick elbows back in response as the problem did not subside. He then began grabbing me and throwing me into other people and I again asked him to just back off and stop and there wouldn't be an issue. He continued pushing even through the break in between bands and after a while a girl who earlier was dancing with multiple guys and looked pretty shit faced came around from behind this guy and introduced herself as meredith and asked my name. I responded and she politely told me she was going to punch me in the face and proceeded to do so. Fuck you meredith. As I did not want to start a brawl at a fucking Grizzly Bear show (music that I believe to be much more relaxed and not fit for shoving or punching) I left and found other seats. Fuck you assholes that don't get what the music is about.

On another note: Grizzly Bear's set was incredible as well. The drummer is phenomenal. He has a very strange but powerful rythm that really gave me a lot more understanding and enjoyment out of Grizzly Bear's music. I will enjoy continuing to listen in the future and would definitely go see either of these bands again. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.

Full Circle

Full Circle

My likeness for you is growing
And it started as a very tall tree.
It's leaves like a jade fu dog
or orange in the fall like the fire in your eyes
or the fire that may
one day release you back into the atmosphere.
Full circle. Those eyes. Orange eyes.
Orange like the brightest fold
In the blanket of space that we call
A universe. Boldly the Gods pull it over
Your eyes. Your eyes. And all they
See now are patterns. Patterns of habit,
Patterns of color, patterns of energy.
Oh and if you could only close your eyes
And burn all the bridges inside
Until you were lost with nowhere to hide
Until the blue blue sky just up and cried
A blue blue rain that felt no pain
And put you out in a puddle
Of black black creosote that the sun
Would dry into a black black stain.
All it would take is a seed, a spark, sight, and a flame
To see that one day the human
Perceiving what seems so inhumane
Will be a white, woven light
and colorblind again.

MOE.DOWN X

moe.down ten:
Add to the bands I've seen: (all at moe.down X: Snow Ridge Ski Resort - Turin, NY)

Friday:

The New Mastersounds
Okemah
Method Man and Redman
moe.

Saturday:

The Family Groove Company
Sam Bush
moe.
Ani DiFranco
The Heavy Pets
CAKE

Sunday:
My Dear Disco
The Ominous Seapods
Mathew Sweet
Lynch
Umphrey's McGee
Nate Wilson Group
moe.

Please note that many of these bands played multiple times. Some of them played 3-6 times.

The highlights of this weekend were:
climbing the ski mountain, moe., Umphrey's Mcgee, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, meeting Sean and Nora, getting locked out of my car at 4:30 in the morning with it running and the light on and my phone in it, walking around for 3 hours asking anybody if they perchance had a wire coat hanger stuck up their ass, breaking the coat hanger that I did find some hours later and resorting to breaking my back window out, not having to break my back window out cuz some dudes helped me break into my car. Many of the other bands were also good but not necessarily highlights. I would say that I only didn't see 6 or 8 sets of the 28 that happened. Lots of music and lots of love. It was a good moe.down. Happy moe.down to all.

I am now home and have been writing a new song as well as learning a couple others. I am excited to start working on a second album for the Steve Yanwie and Joe Spiegelman Project. I will post when it is ready although it may take some time...

The Allman Brothers Band - The Best

Add to the bands I've seen:
The Allman Brothers Band: PNC Bank and Arts Center - Homdel, NJ

I went to this show not really knowing what I was getting into. The Allman Bros have been a mere shadow in the panoramic scene of my musical taste. Eat A Peach is a damn good record and I've never doubted that but seeing Trucks and Warren Haynes go at it with all the other aspects of the band combined blew my mind. The power and the energy coupled with the flow and how the two guitarists pick up after each other and lay out their solos was absolutely fantastic. Now, I would be hard pressed to think of a better pair of guitar players. Much enjoyed and I cannot wait to see them again.

Hot ‘Lanta
Done Somebody Wrong
No One To Run With
Woman Across The River
Soulshine w/Juke Horns
Stand Back w/Juke Horns
Stormy Monday w/Pat Simmons, guitar
Black Hearted Woman
Same Thing w/Juke Horns
Jessica

Encore:

Melissa
You Don’t Love Me

Animals Collected

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Animal Collective: Prospect Park - Brooklyn, NY

This was my second Animal Collective event but I enjoyed it much more than the last concert I went to. I saw them in Montreal with a moshing (yeah wtf right?) crowd and a horrible opener. They played a lot of drone/ambient transitions between their songs and it just wasn't what I was hoping for in my live Animal Collective experience. Despite an equally terrible opener, Dam-funk; Animal Collective kicked ass. I had a great time and danced my ass off. The balls with the glow sticks were also particularly fun. They played a great set-list and rather than a droney lead in to every song, they might tease for a minute or two but they really jumped into them all feet-first and rocked the house. I was hoping for Reverend Green but was not disappointed with the encore none the less. All in all, I've never heard Animal Collective like this, ever. A truly enjoyable show, exactly what I had hoped for, and a great performance by the animals collected.

01 - Grace
02 - Summertime Clothes
03 - Leaf House
04 - Guys Eyes
05 - Slippi
06 - #1
07 - Also Frightened
08 - What Would I Want Sky
09 - My Girls
10 - Fireworks
11 - Brother Sport

12 - In The Flowers
13 - Comfy In Nautica
14 - Lion in a Coma

The Story Of The Steve Yanwie and Joe Spiegelman Project

The Story Of The Steve Yanwie and Joe Spiegelman Project

It all began sitting on a bench with my friend Josh, we saw in the courtyard of a little park that there was a couple fighting. They were fairly disheveled, and most likely hobos. The woman was screaming and actually threw a smoothie at the man. She was yelling, "Fuck Joe Spiegalman, I don't want to fucking go to Joe Spiegalman's House!" The man subsequently asking back, "Please baby, come on. Let's just go to Joe Spiegelman's, come on." which was immediately returned with a boisterous, "Fuck Joe Spiegelman, I don't wanna fucking go to Joe Spiegelman's house!"

The two it seemed had agreed to meet at this location to hang out for two hours and at the hour and a half mark or somewhere thereabouts the man wanted to go to Joe Spiegelman's house. The young lady was not amused. They eventually walked off screaming at each other some more with some more profanity and yelling mixed in. The phrase that really stuck was "Fuck Joe Spiegelman" I mean the guy didn't do anything wrong that was apparent from the conversation. I mean he just wanted someone to hang out with as far as we know. So, I turned to Josh and told him that we should redeem the name of Joe Spiegelman with a band at some point and time. We continued on, thinking nothing of it and regarding it as one of those times where you say, "Hey this should be our band name." Which I feel happens quite frequently when you don't have a band name.

A couple months later I was on a train to Albany and as I was moving along the rails I looked out to the right and saw a building spanning at least 100 feet with the words "FUCK STEVE YANWIE" from one side to the other. I can't imagine what the guy could've done to deserve that kind of advertisement against his name. It recalled the Joe Spiegelman incident but didn't really last long because what really stuck with me about the Joe Spiegelman extravaganza was the repetition of the "Fuck Joe Spiegelman." So I kind of dismissed it, but then another 1/2 mile or mile down the tracks there it was again, plastered across another huge building in the same giant block letters, "FUCK STEVE YANWIE" and I was like well, all righty. I have my band name and the Steve Yanwie and Joe Spiegelman Project was born. I have vowed to redeem these two men whether they were drug addicts or drug dealers or con-men or a misunderstood simpleton, I will do my best to redeem their souls through the cosmic force of music.

There's a little more to the story but perhaps maybe I'll make a concept album to reveal the rest of it. Until then, please enjoy my low-tech, first attempt at musicality. I promise for Steve and Joe's sake, to improve. If you have any comments or questions please feel free to email them to me at goingonawhim@gmail.com.

If you would like a hard copy, I will except a small donation for materials to hand make a one of a kind cover and personalized CD case. For now, feel free to download for free. If you don't know how to use megaupload, simply type in the code, download, unzip, and import to itunes by either dragging or dropping with a mac or File>Add Folder To Library for PC. Enjoy!

Asitti by The Steve Yanwie And Joe Spiegelman Project:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O2PG529L

First Venture

Today was my first venture out of the house with all of my musical equipment. Not Quite all I guess but most of it. Pedals, Guitar, Amp, Harmonica and Jaw Harp. It didn't feel out of the ordinary per se except the fact that it hasn't ever happened. I finally got a little glimpse at what it would be like to cart around my amp and everything to shows, that type of thing. I know I'm a long way away but it was a glimpse.

Here's what I gathered from it. That amp is FUCKING HEAVY. We loaded it into the back of the car and were off. Not really a big hassle at all. Just it's a big amp...

The music was good. Beats and loops and a couple of key presses, plucks and pounds of a drum later a bitty sound clip was born. Good times, the progress will continue.