Astoria Basement

Highline Ballroom - Eisley/Vedera

2008-04-24T17:50:00.002-04:00

Last night I went to see Eisley and Vedera (and incidentally, the Myriad) at the Highline Ballroom on 16th Street.

First of all -

Sherri, the short-haired guitar player in that video, rocks my face. I remember watching that video with Taylor back in college and thinking it was one of the creepier things I had ever seen. But lets not get too far ahead of things.

First of all, DP and I decided to stop at POPburger to get some food before the show. The Envy Corps were supposed to open the show, so we had some time to kill before Vedera. UNFORTUNATELY what no one told me was that the Envy Corps did not show up. Vedera was the first band to play and I ended up missing most of their set (which was a soul-crushing blow). The worst part about it - the two songs that I did hear were so emotive that I found myself laughing hysterically during their set because i couldn't believe how good this band was. Kristen May, the singer, has the sweetest voice I've ever heard. Also - she's not afraid to go balls-deep when she needs to. The last song they played, which contains a re-hashed chorus from "Song For A Friend" off their old cd was ironed and pressed to a T. I can't wait to hear the new album and I hope it contains a lot of the intensity that they capture live. (I had the chance to talk with her during Eisley's encore - and while she was probably creeped out because I told her I dreamed that she was heckling me about ringtones in the Sony offices, she was still very nice... and now I have a total crush on her.)

The Myriad was surprisingly awesome. I've never seen a band use some many gadgets and weird noises on stage. I kept thinking that they must spend a lot of money gear that they use once a night.

Surprisingly to me, the room did not fill up as much as i suspected it would. Honestly, that's totally fine with me because shows that aren't packed in NYC are few and far between. Eisley played a very tight set - and it's incredible to see them perform three-part harmonies live. I couldn't stop gawking at Sherri Dupree, the rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist. Had I done some research before the show, I would've realized that she is separated from New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert (damn! I could've made a move!). I guess I'll just have to wait patiently for her to date a few more punk superstars before she returns to New York and I can sweep her off her feet.

I've been listening to the two Eisley albums all day and I have a feeling this is going to serious affect my song writing (It'll still be me! but just darker, creepier and more children-of-the-corn inspired!)

This was just what the doctor ordered after the last few weeks of live music.

I saw Murder By Death at the Bowery Ballroom
then Minus the Bear in Pittsburgh at Diesel
and the Starting Line in Philadelphia at the Electric Factory

but I think this may have been the most enjoyable show of the past 4 weeks!

This show was the tits.

West Side Brewing Co. - 76th and Amsterdam

2008-03-31T03:57:00.006-04:00

Seems like a random time to pick this up again... But its like 4am and I woke up from what I thought would be the best sleep of my life (spent most of the day feeling bleary-eyed and sleepy with a hint of rot-gut that can only be attributed to the stew of hummus, cheap whiskey and pabst blue ribbon combined with smoking two hookahs). Regardless, I had been looking forward to going to dinner with my "crew" who I hadn't seen for about two weeks (they were all away on business, home for Easter and then blacking out early on Saturday night).

So we end up at the West Side Brewing Co. in the upper west side - and I realized that I had actually been there about 2 years ago on spring break. As I recall, I ate about half a sandwich because I was so hungover... a coincidence that I would be back in similar condition (okay, that's not really a stretch for the imagination by any means).

Upon being seating in the darkest corner of the place (really, it was our choice), we scoured the beer menu and I settled on the Abita Turbodog- an old favorite. The fare seemed like a pretty standard menu for a well-worn bar - salads, sandwiches, plenty of appetizers. We ordered some nachos to start. I also ordered a cup of tortilla soup and a cheesesteak (an daunting amount of food, but lets keep in mind that I hadn't really eaten anything all day.) I would rate everything on the better side of average except for our waitress who was very friendly and adorable. Naturally, I couldn't muster up the stones to get her number. (Although it's 4:30am now and I've convinced myself that I need to go back this week to at least ask her... would've been a lot less arduous to just do it last night!)

Conversation drifted between the movie Ella Enchanted, starring Anne Hathaway, and the pressures of infidelity in the workplace. I think sometimes the company you keep can really overshadow any venue, barring any huge disasters with the latter. That said, it was just really good to see my friends again.

Kris somehow manages to make us all look like waspy racists (+1 asian) every time we eat dinner together - audibly saying "Klu Klux Klan" after Oat informed us that while working in VA, he learned that they've changed their monicker to the "CCC" and we all momentarily forgot what "KKK" meant. Awkward and hysterical laughter always follows...

A marquis night for a Sunday! And I'll be back to the West Side Brewing Co. again (If not sometime this week!)

Astoria - the land menupages won't touch with a 10-foot-pole

2008-01-09T16:54:00.000-05:00

Apparently, menupages (along with just about every girl I've met recently) is discriminating me based on my geographical location.

Lets face it - some nights, you get home a little later from work and you start playing video games and sooner or later, you're curled up on your futon and you just don't feel like cooking! But maybe the RPG you've been so intimately involved with has inspired a strong sense of adventure in your heart... and you're ready for some new cuisine (I can only handle so much sushi or tacos)!

"Lets see what menupages recommends!" I tell myself as I hunch over my computer (posterior still glued to my futon)

Menupages recommends that i move the hell out of Astoria. Seriously. There's nothing there. In fact, I have yet to find ANY sites with comprehensive knowledge of the cuisine in Astoria period! The closest thing i was able to find was some old postings on Chowhound.com - which although helpful, are basically all 2 years old. A lot of turnover has occured since then.

I'm blown away that when searching for listings about restaurants, Brooklyn and Manhattan flood the web and yet Queens is so slow to catch up that I'm forced to actually consider going through the takeout menus and flyers that litter my front porch!!!

I think there's still a Hotpocket in the freezer.

Wu Liang Ye - 48th St. by Rockefeller Center

2008-01-04T15:44:00.000-05:00

Lunch is usually a pretty big debacle around the office. It was a lot easier when DP worked at Sony because he was my lunch compadre (and all-around broham). Currently the DP resides at the offices of MTV which is approximately 15 blocks south - not an insurmountable feat but quite a distance when you just want to meet a friend for a quick bite on your lunch break.

Today, we met at Wu Liang Ye for some chinese.

Food - General Tsos, String Beans & Beef, Pork Fried Rice
Price - pretty expensive (even for midtown) - about $20 for an entree ($7.50 for Lunch specials is for takeout only!).

Regardless of the price, this was pretty damn good. A nice option to have when I need to go a little further south to meet up with people. Their fried rice is something I can see myself craving in the near future. Might skip the string beans next time though.

Astoria Basement!

2008-01-03T11:48:00.000-05:00

First Post.

I've been in New York City for about a year and 4 months. That's plenty long enough to have an answer to the question "where should we go tonight!?" but somehow, when people ask me - I always end up blanking - which will be one of my primary reasons for starting this blog.

I realize I am nowhere nearly clever enough to serve as entertainment for anyone but myself - but as my memory is continually erroded by Captain-and-Pepsi, perhaps serving as a reminder of where i've been will justification enough.

So happy new year! Can't wait to see what's in store for 2008.

Currently listening to: The Dear Hunter - "Act II: The Meaning Of, And All Things Regarding Ms. Leading"
Current food craving: Soup from Hale & Hearty. I'm sick and I skipped lunch today.