Pete Doherty: Ghost of the Drugged Present

The last person I expected to see in London on early Friday evening was Babyshambles' frontman Pete Doherty.

Around 6 p.m., I am waiting for my friends outside of their law school in Bloomsbury, on Store Street, when I hear somebody say that Pete was seen in the area around lunch time. About 30 seconds later, Pete emerges from the Olivelli's Hotel with an entourage of four people. They proceed to pack guitar cases into the grey Mercedes which is parked directly across the street. Most of the hotel's staff stood in the doorway as Doherty and company attempted to accomplish this feat.

Pete goes into the nearby shops, comes back with a small plastic bag and attempts to get back to the car. It seems impossible for him as he swerving towards his friends while walking in the middle the street. I guess he has a death wish for himself. He is a shrunken version of his formal self and the dark circles beneath his eyes are visible from several feet away. He seems even more incoherent when he shuffles around the car. He removes the worn Union Jack flag from the car, goes over to the passenger side and walks back to the driver's side. I stopped looking at one point and the group finally drove away.

Given the proximity of the hotel to the drug district of Tottenham Court and the daily rate of the hotel, I wonder how much "recording" the group accomplished.

Matt Bellamy is my Muse

If you don't love The Muse's Matt Bellamy already, here are several more reasons:

1) Matt Bellamy flies with British Airways. He also doesn't travel with an entourage.

2) The lead singer actually reads. At the moment, it is The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman.

3) He uses a wheelie suitcase. Did you imagine this rock star with anything less?

3.5) I tend to run into him when I am going to London AND he shares news about the band. This time it was at JFK's Terminal 7 during a delayed flight. According to Matt, The Muse play Hammerstein Ballroom on August 4th. I also met him last November when the band was in NYC to wrap up the forthcoming album (right before I crossed the pond for Thanksgiving break).

P.S. You have to love the Apple Store in London! I did not have to pay a pound (or about $1.88) to add a posting!

Target Music: Except Less

I wonder if Julian and the boys know that there is another band out there with a very similar name AND a CD called First Impressions of Earth.

This post appears courtsey of the Target on Atlantic Avenue in downtown Brooklyn.

I Went to the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash and All I Got was a Swollen Lip

Rock and roll fans don't go to Game One of the Subway Series or queue for a peak at the new Apple store.

I'm getting back on the blog wagon; enclosed is a recap of Friday night.

One ticket to the Joey Ramone Birthday Bash at Irving Plaza: $30
Three vodka tonics: $33

Priceless Moments:
1) Tyler Fyre's Lucky Devil Circus Sideshow. Sword swallowing, straight jackets, a female contortionist. Need I say more?

2) Threads. The Bklyn boys ROCK. They also throw CDs into the crowd and talk to fans outside of the men's room.

3) Matt Pinfield as co-M.C. Come on. Don't you remember 120 Minutes?


4) Waiting for The Strokes. They came on stage around 12:08 A.M. The audience pushed to the front, cameras were pulled out and the guy standing directly behind me thought Fabrizio could hear him from behind the kit.

5) Booing The Strokes. They played two songs (the first being "Life's a Gas"). Julian said "Good night!" We thought they would come back but they are big rock stars and didn't have to. I'm still booing. Can you hear me, Julian?

6) Getting hit in the face by Richie Ramone's drumstick. At the end of the guest collaboration, I was looking up at the balcony when I something hit my upper lip. There was not any blood but it really hurt! I wonder if I had similar odds for winning a new laptop that night.

Merci, Phoenix

The four-man French band Phoenix played an all-English set, with its heavy electronic sound, at the Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday night.

When he wasn't smiling or standing at the very edge of the stage, lead singer Thomas Mars (a.k.a. Sofia Coppola's baby's daddy) snuck in some words from his native tongue to thank the NYC audience.

The highlight of the evening was the first encore song, an acoustic cover of Air's "Playground Love." Mars was accompanied by guitarist Christian Mazzalai, who happens to be the mirror image of his brother/guitarist Laurent Brancowitz.

I guess Mars feels compelled to play the second encore song, "Too Young," as it is featured on the soundtrack for Sofia's movie, Lost in Translation.



Setlist:
Napoleon Says
Run Run Run
Consolation Prizes
Long Distance Call
Rally
Everything is Everything
Lost & Found
One Time Too Many
I'm an Actor
If I Ever Feel Better
Funky Squaredance
Sometimes in the Fall
Encore:
Playground Love
Too Young
Second to None

Jamming in My Jammies

I must be getting old. Or becoming responsible. Perhaps the World Wide Web is taking the fanatic out of me.

My favorite band for the past 14 years, Pearl Jam, will be performing at two shows for the dedicated in NYC this week: a fan club gig after The Late Show with David Letterman taping on Thursday night and another show at Irving Plaza the following night.

Up until the group's 2003 tour, the 10 Club used snail mail to distribute tickets. These days, sales are held over the Internet. While I was able to add tickets for the Letterman performance to my cart, they were sold out before I could complete the purchase.

Some people may hang around outside the Ed Sullivan Theater to catch a glimpse of the Seattle rockers. I will be sitting behind a laptop several blocks away, streaming video of the live performance.

I did not line up outside Tower Records for over 24 hours to earn a ticket to the Friday show. Instead, I read the blog.

I guess Eddie had a point when he wrote, "All that is sacred, comes from youth."

Sisters on the Bowery

What happens when an English radio station introduces you to an American band?

You can sing along to approximately two songs and figure it's worth the while to check out the Scissor Sisters at the Bowery Ballroom on a Sunday night.

You end up providing vocals on "Laura" and "Mary," try to get a decent shot of Karl Lagerfeld in the VIP balcony area (it didn't happen) and make an effort to not drool over the hot guys in the audience.

Jake Shears' (Gradual) Strip Tease

Setlist:
Take Your Mama
I Can't Decide
Tits on the Radio
She's My Man
Laura
Paul McCartney
Everybody Wants the Same Thing
Kiss You Off
Mary
The Other Side
I Don't Feel Like Dancing
Comfortably Numb
Music is the Victim
Land of a Thousand Words
Encore:
Filthy Gorgeous

Falling in Love (with Elbow) Every Second Song

The Mancuians rocked the Hall of Webster by delivering perhaps the second best show of the year on Thursday night.

The number one spot is held by the Editors' gig at Rothko.

While the Elbow set list on Thursday night was almost identical to the one from the band's show at Hiro Ballroom in November, the larger venue actually had a more intimate feel and lead singer Guy Garvey showed his hospitality by thanking the crowd between almost every song.

I am still not sure why the concert did not sell out but the "real" fans provided a floor-shaking experience which did not go unnoticed by the band.

When an audience member in the front row yelled "It's my birthday," Guy joked around by commenting that it was a great introduction to a song about political corruption ("Leaders of the Free World").

A haunting version of "Newborn," which closed out the evening, left everybody's jaws on the sticky Webster Hall floor.


Drummer Boy: Guy on the kit during "McGregor."




Setlist:
Station Approach
Red
Leaders of the Free World
Great Expectations
Fugitive Hotel
Mexican Stand-Off
The Good Day
Switching Off
McGregor
Forget Myself
Scatter Between
Encore:
Puncture Repair
The Stops
Newborn