Thursday, August 03, 2006

“Yay for summer concerts!” yet again

How I wish you could return this summer!

Take a guess how many concerts I've been to of the 16 that I had originally planned to attend by tonight.

Go on, guess.

3, 7, 13, 16?

No.


How about zero?

Correct.


There are several reasons why I have yet to attend any concerts so far. Sometimes it’s due to the high cost of the concert ticket. Other times it’s because of the shitty weather. I've even forgotten of the dates of shows. But for the most part I’ve skipped concerts since I’ve got either pressing matters at home to take care of (thesis) or due to apathy. However, I’m hoping that the next few weeks will be a different story and I will be able to make up for lost musical enjoyment.

So without further ado here’s an updated list of the concerts that I sure as hell better be going to:


*Saturday August 5-
Gustavo Cerati, Calle 13, Mexican Institute of Sound @ Central Park Summerstage: I never would have imagined that my first concert of the summer (and for that matter the first one in almost a year) would be this one. However, I won a pair of free tix to attend an exhibit at the Asia Society via the wonderful people at Flavorpill. (And I won the tix by writing a brief essay of being humiliated. Go schadenfreude!) I wasn’t planning on going to the concert, but I’m going to meet C. at the Asia Society and then catch the latter part of the concert since it’s only a few blocks away from the museum. I haven’t heard any of Cerati’s stuff lately even though I absolutely adore Soda Stereo. Either way it should be a great concert and should hopefully make up for the disappointment of not getting Manu Chao tix before it sold out. (Thank you LAMC for the concert on the 5th!)

*Thursday August 10- Los Amigos Invisibles @ El Museo del Barrio: El Museo is by far one of my favorite museums in NYC ever since I attended the 2004 “MoMA at El Museo” exhibit with some art-smart friends. El Museo is an absolutely underrated gem. Then there’s Los Amigos Invisibles who are just a fantastic mix of funk, cumbia, salsa, and electronic music. Late lunch in Spanish Harlem, browse through the museum, dance my somewhat prodigious ass off, then a snack and stroll through Central Park before heading home. Ingenious!

*Sunday August 27- Semilla @ Lincoln Center: This is the band that C.’s boyfriend is in. I’m sure they’re good although I have yet to hear them play live. Either way, C.’s boyfriend is an incredibly nice and great guy so I trust that his group is very good. Also, going to Lincoln Center gives me a chance to revive a past glory- last May’s graduate convocation.

*Tuesday September 5- The Clientele @ The Knitting Factory: Whenever I’m in the mood to relax and de-stress I usually check my “Downtempo” and “Light Music” MP3 folders and listen to artists like Sneaker Pimps, Hanne Hukkelberg, and Zero 7. More often than not, however, I tend to lean towards The Clientele as one of two music acts that never fails to help me unwind. (The other one being Neko Case, who I touched on in this post). Well, The Clientele are coming to NYC in early September and I will try to be sure to make it to that show.

*Friday September 8-
Serena Maneesh @ Bowery Ballroom: On the other hand, there are times when I need to wake up and reinvigorate my mind and soul. During those occasions I’ll sometimes listen to the Pixies or the Doves or Bersuit Vergarabat. Yet most of the time I’ll open up my “Shoegazer” MP3 folder and listen to My Bloody Valentine, early Lush, and Serena Maneesh. I’ve been desperate to go to a Serena Maneesh concert ever since I missed their appearance in Williamsburg in January since I was out of the country and forgot to go to Siren a few weeks ago. In addition, Bowery Ballroom’s one of my favorite venues for music, beer, and relative intimacy. Besides, the concert should hopefully prepare my mind for the sadness and mourning of the one-year anniversary of my dad’s passing that upcoming Sunday.

So that should be it for the next month or so. The concerts are all free aside from the last two mentioned above. Not bad and it’s best to take advantage now before this comes around again.

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