Thursday, April 21, 2005 :::
Tonight: Garbage at the 9:30 Club, with The Dead 60s opening. Appropriately enough, it rained earlier, even if it is sunny now. Yay, I'm seeing Garbage tonight!
I took this one the last time they were at the 9:30.
Jimmy Eat World @ Bender Arena. Review forthcoming. Photo highlights:
I was amused by the fact that I spent the evening wearing this wristband:
I guess a yellow Star of David with a picture of a camera on it was out of the question.
After taking photos, instead of braving the crowd and making my way to the top of the bleachers, I decided to take a chance and slip to the side of the stage, from where people with backstage access were watching the show. Since some of them had stickers and some of them had orange wristbands like mine, I was never questioned and enjoyed the show away from the teeming teenage masses. The show was almost evenly divided between Clarity, Bleed American and Futures, though the kids were obviously more into the latter two albums. As predicted, I was one of the oldest people there. But the thing is, Jimmy Eat World put on a really great show last night, and I still like them, even if I don’t like that many songs on Futures. I find it sort of sad that Jimmy Eat World have become a guilty pleasure. I’m not sure why bands my age or older feel compelled to write songs about high school. Are they pandering to teenagers intentionally because they think it will sell more albums and fill bigger venues? It’s not like 20-somethings don’t enjoy good power-emo-pop. Age-old question, I suppose.
Once the show ended, I continued by tradition of getting lost backstage at Jimmy Eat World shows (although this time without the lovely Ms. Rhinestone), nearly knocking over guitarist Tom Linton as he left the stage and then accidentally using an exit that led me directly to the bands’ buses. Unlike the last time I got lost though, I didn’t bump into a depressed-looking Jack Black or Weezer’s Matt Sharp. Jimmy Eat World + Weezer + Tenacious D = much better than Jimmy Eat World + Taking Back Sunday. I timed my arrival to catch only the end of Taking Back Sunday’s set, though I understand why the kids like their catchy emo-pop.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005 :::
Do any of my dear readers know of any Mexican indie rock/pop that I could play at a Cinco de Mayo party at which I'll be DJing?
I’ve been tempted to rename this blog now that it’s also my DJ name. I’m not wild about Seeking Irony as a DJ name. For some reason, “Ironic Twist” has been standing out as a possibility. I think it’s more DJ-like, having the name of a dance in it and all. On the one hand, it's not great to mess with something that's been working well for me, but on the other hand, I'm bad at commitment and really need a change, and the new name would still have the flavor of the old. What do you think, dear readers/bluestate party-goers?
Monday, April 18, 2005 :::
This weekend totally rocked. I wasn’t going to go out on Friday night, but MG convinced me to check out Notorious, an ‘80s and beyond dance party on the Black Cat backstage. The DJ, Selector Seth, kept the hits coming with impressive skill, and by midnight the room was packed and MG and I were dancing on the stage, where I kept accidentally unplugging the pretty blue lights with my heels. There were two girls there who dressed up full-on ’80s style and looked great down to every detail, from their sweatbands to their legwarmers. As the set moved beyond the ’80s into songs like “Decepticon” and “Hey Ya,” we made our way to our respective homes to go rest up for . And speaking of bluestate, it was pretty awesome. We didn’t fill the backstage the way we did the first time, when between bluestate and Mousetrap the club sold out, but apparently Mousetrap wasn’t packed either, and the club was still pleased with our draw. I was quite pleased with the way my set turned out, and… get ready for this… didn’t push any wrong buttons or anything! Really! I think I’m actually starting to get good at this DJing thing. I was even complimented by one of my favorite local DJs, William Alberque. As far as feedback from the crowd, I got a “Who’s this? I like this” when I played a Thunderbirds Are Now! song, and a few requests for artists/songs I hadn’t brought with me, which always makes me feel like I should drag around a lot more music every time I do this. Check out my set list, along with the other three lists and a few photos, here. Thank you to everyone who came, and especially to everyone who danced even to the songs they’d never heard before. Next up for the bluestate collective: the DCist Cinco de Mayo Party at Chief Ike’s.
01/05: Taint and Bliss present INFAMY, 9:30 Club
01/10: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, 9:30 Club
01/19: Benjy Ferree, Meredith Bragg and the Terminals, Greenland, Black Cat 01/24: Hej Hej, Cafe Saint-Ex
