Marathon Moments

Hey There.

I'm Mike, a drummer. Being this is my first post on the new blog, I felt it was important to introduce myself. Anyway, this post wasn't really supposed to happen. I was going to write an email to my fellow rock and roll compatriots to discuss a couple of things I had on my mind, but at the last minute figured it might better serve as a blog post.

So here I am.

And here CMJ is, or was, considering it's end is rapidly approaching. It goes out with a bang tomorrow night with Spoon headlining Roseland. Speaking of Spoon... Tim, Josh, and myself were lucky enough to catch an intimate show headlined by Austin's finest last night at The Blender Theater, formerly known as The Gramercy Theater. This was my first time catching Spoon live so I was extremely excited to be in the presence of such a revered indie mainstay.

Anyway, the show was fantastic. Britt Daniel has such an amazing command over the stage. He literally beats on his Gibson hollow body while snarling his amazing catalog of biting lyrics. He almost has sort of a Bruce thing going on, and it shines through. Jim Eno was also equally as impressive. His playing has always been extremely simple, yet immensely solid - and he keeps it up live. He's such a driving force behind the band. The set list was almost perfect, dropping classics from Gimme Fiction and Kill the Moonlight alike. My one disappointment was not hearing my favorite off of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Rhthm and Soul. Hey speaking of which, has anyone else realized that 'Rhythm' is spelled incorrectly in the song title. Was that on purpose? Oh well. Amazing song that some other lucky fans will hopefully get to hear tomorrow night at Roseland. Unfortunately, I won't be one of them (have a wedding to attend).

Before Spoon, I got to catch UNKLE and Holy Fuck at Webster Hall. I was initially turned onto UNKLE several years back when Thom Yorke did a collaboration with them on the eerily-amazing song, Rabbit in Your Headlights. If you've never seen the video for it, Check it out below. Fantastic... If the last 40 seconds of this video doesn't give you chills, then I'm not sure you have a soul.

UNKLE was solid live. I enjoyed it. But actually, what interested me even more was the band that played before them, Holy Fuck. Apparently these guys have generated quite a buzz during this year's marathon because I keep seeing press about them popping up in everything from obscure blogs to that free Metro newspaper they hand out on the subway. And deservedly so. These guys put on a hell of a show and look like they have a blast doing so. Anyway, if you get a chance, check them out. The song Safari is one that really stands out to me.

I think I had something else I wanted to say, but I now forget. Oh well, until next time...