I wasn’t sure I’d make it, but I’m damn glad I made this show…here’s some lovely live music, plus a turgid trip down memory lane, and a few corny year-end reflections. ‘Tis the season, reading optional.
‘Gotta love somebody who dances like you: not a lot of people I know bust that hands-to-the-sky-while-threading-a cosmic-bow, eyes-to-the-heavens move…I honed it during my New Romantic days…as for the freeze-frame, sometimes it’s about the moments between the moments…click on the 360 @ bottom right, for higher rez
This is dedicated to the lady who bought four shots of tequila — “You’ll see why later”, she told me — three for the band, one for her; she’s seen at one point extending a hug to the entire stage as the singer and her have, well, a moment…
‘Dig how this goes from a cappella amidst pub ruckus, to sing-along, to straight-up testifyin’…When Florence walks past the harp in the opening, her cloak seems to strum the strings, before she raises a glass, toasting the audience whilst framed by the harp as if at a kind of uhm, magic doorway, a threshold
They say that when a man walks into a room, he brings his whole life with him — at least that’s what Don Draper wrote in his diary on “Mad Men”….when I walked into SPIN’s party, I carried a few very old memories: coming back to NYC post-college and going straight to their offices and pitching John Leland — SPIN was the first magazine that ever published me, and that’s always a sentimental spot…interviewing Sonic Youth at CBGB, and realizing that maybe the more interesting interview to be had was with the soundman, Norm, who gave me a one-voice history of CBs bands, stating his absolute HATE for nearly every band that played CB’s salad days — this is paraphrased, but I’ll never forget it: “Look at them twisting around like that; they should just learn to play their fuckin’ instruments!…and going home and typing (on a manual typewriter) this up on onion skin — not making back-up copies — and giving my piece to Legs McNeil, who subsequently misplaced it…suggesting to Joe Levy a CD review-slash-ratings system based on the trade-in value of CDs, like the “blue book” used for cars…the crowd-swarm outside SPIN’s fifth anniversary party at Studio 54, and being sent to the delivery entrance by an ad exec who recognized me…only to find more pandemonium, albeit with better-dressed folks clamoring to get in, and some guy named KC (mistaking me for someone cool) asked me to help him get in, because he was headlining the show, and the bouncer didn’t quite get it…I realized that he was KC of KC & The Sunshine Band and managed to get him and myself in…nice, crazy night….anyway fast forward uh, twenty NYC years, which translates into infinite NY minutes…I’m glad this party was around the corner from my apartment, because it was insanely cold; ‘also glad Dawn K. was outside with photo passes, as the corner-wrapping line went (seemingly) halfway back to my block…’not sure why (maybe the harp) but at times I was reminded (more in spirit than in formal aesthetics) of a band — also from a long time ago — Hugo Largo, that I first saw at a tiny place high above Times Square, called Nirvana Club One…
And even though I’m wary of year-end lists for fear of manufacturing consent, as it were, (a constant peril-slash-reality) — it was nice to see Florence & The Machine (who, by way of confession, like a lot of bands I’d taken for granted as good, but adored live as great) get this proper shine from SPIN. Maybe I’m wary of year-end lists because I have a fear of classification, which Lucy didn’t tackle in A Charlie Brown Christmas, so I looked online…didn’t find fear of classification, but I did find this classification of fears, and so, by way of happenstance guide to a worthy New Year’s resolution, take a look at this list of phobias and see what fear(s) you could do without…maybe develop a phobia of phobias, as the world changes right before your eyes. So, by way of some seasonal corn, I wish you serene year-end reflections, irrespective of how 2010 went down for you, and a semi-enlightened perspective through 2011 and beyond, regardless of how things go down for you.
I will forever LOVE you for having video of this! I was the girl who gave shots to Florence that night. Show was awesome! The Patron landed me with a hangover the next day, but it was well worth it! Thank you again for the video! Cheers!