Weezer @ Warsaw, 3.30.16

Two weeks ago I ventured to the border between Greenpoint and Williamsburg to a little venue called Warsaw for an intimate night with one of my favorites, Weezer. I love their music but admittedly, I don’t follow them as closely as I do Green Day and sometimes I’m not happy about that (I know, #firstworldproblems). I saw them play an epic concert with The Flaming Lips in 2011 and hadn’t had the chance to see them again since. 

Warsaw felt smaller than Irving Plaza. Ben and I stood to the side near the front the entire time. There was another fan next to us who was probably in his late 30′s and was likely in college when the Blue Album came out. He looked like he probably asked his wife to watch their first born for the night so he could relive his college memories. 

They played for an hour and a half and they played all their hits (no, really, look at this setlist). Including Beverly Hills! This was the one song they didn’t play in 2011 that I wanted to play. Weezer is a trip down memory lane through grade school and now through my 20s.

I didn’t get home until 11:30 on a “school” night, but it was worth it. 

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January 13th, 2015: Guster at Rough Trade

Last Tuesday one of my favorite bands, Guster, released their 7th album with an acoustic set, a CD signing, and a full concert after that. I didn’t think I’d be getting to meet the band so I was completely speechless when it set in that I was merely feet from them. The above photo is the result of my meeting them. Goofy/stupid/happy.

Their first set was 8 songs long and they performed it on a small platform in the middle of the floor space inside Rough Trade. It was really awesome. The setlist is here. They performed Window off of Parachute, so that was special.

After the signing and photos, there was a ways to wait and then Frozen’s “Love Is An Open Door” started playing over the speaker system, we all started singing along, and the guys came out. Apparently one of their kids loves Frozen so they thought, “why not!”

This was the smallest stage they ever performed on with the most instruments they have ever performed with so the stage was quite crammed. This show was their first with their new material and basically a big experiment to see if they could even perform these songs live at all. They had a new band member with them too, Dave, because they needed an extra person with them onstage to fully play the songs. Ryan said multiple times, “Wow! That wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be!” when they finished a song. He told lots of stories, followed by, “I don’t know why I’m telling you this now or why I’m still talking.”

Guster might be one of my favorite bands to see live because they give exactly zero fucks onstage. They just play their music and have a good time. (Full set list here.)

I was tired at work the next day but it was totally worth it. Even the trip to Brooklyn. 😉

Some videos I took:

• Careful (pre-signing set)
• Satellite
• Happier 

The final evening at the Brooklyn Night Bazaar

I’d heard about the Brooklyn Night Bazaar via Twitter this week and it seemed like a good time so I went down last night after seeing An Evening With Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin with my mom during the day. Inside the downtown NQR platform at Union Square, a band was promoting themselves and their upcoming show at The Knitting Factor. They’re called Moon Hooch (check them out here) and they had a really interesting sound – not your usual band. 

Forty five minutes and a free mini concert later, I exited the L train at Bedford and eventually found my way to Kent Street after passing some tacky Christmas lights on a house on North 5th  and some cute lighting displays on Bedford Avenue itself.

 

I know it’s extremely typical Manhattanite of me to say but I love Bedford Avenue (Berry Street is equally as awesome). Tons of restaurants and shops, and I love the lights they put up during the winter (holidays?). 

I eventually made it to Kent Street and perused the Bazaar. There were dozens of vendors that were selling material goods as well as food. I ended up buying a metal ring with a bow on it, a glass of sangria, and whoopie pie from Robicelli’s (which I still have yet to eat). I really wanted to buy the Manhattan “Clean Plates” guide (they also just released one for Brooklyn) but I still have a few Christmas presents to buy, so I decided I’d hold off.  Clean Plates I learned was a guide to restaurants in the city who use free range meat and other local ingredients in their food. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that restaurants like Nanoosh, Josie’s, The Meatball Shop, and Citrus were on that list. They’re coming out with an App in a few weeks so keep an eye for that!

My friend Tanya eventually made her way to the Bazaar because she had tickets to see Titus Andronicus. Before I left though, we got a couple of photo sessions in the photo booth. The photo booth may or may not have looked like a younger Billie Joe Armstrong (yes, he was very, very cute – and we’re pretty sure he knew it).

Afterward I went to the Meatball Shop on Bedford for a few chicken meatballs and salad, and then made the trek home. It was a good (Bazaar?) night.