Good Friday

Like Coolfer sort-of-said, There really is no reason to go to SXSW if you live in NYC. This week I tested my limits with four work nights in a row of shows, with multiple shows in one night.

It went something like this:

Monday“Red Wine Boys” @ Piano’s then The Go! Team @ Mercury Lounge
TuesdayFeist @ Joe’s Pub then (sold my ticket outside Southpaw for) The Go! Team
WednesdayKeren Ann @ Joe’s Pub then The Go! Team @ Canal Room
ThursdayThe Flaming Lips & the Pussycat Dolls @ Gotham Hall

Now that it’s Friday, I can’t wait to get home and do nothing. I was almost going to Kaiser Chiefs & Morningwood at Bowery Ballroom. I’m happy I’m not.

And no, it’s not a type-o. Last night I saw the Pussycat Dolls and The Flaming Lips. Wednesday night, I got an IM from a friend who said they had a hot tip. In order to receive the information, I had to swear not to blog about it. I agreed. The auto show is happening in NYC right now, and the tip was a free Mazda-sponsored party at Gotham Hall (36th & Broadway) where the Flaming Lips would be playing. We had some B.S. RSVP information, so we figured we’d give it a shot.

As suspected, the whole RSVP thing was a scam. Word got out about the show, and Flaming Lips fans were lined up for blocks trying to crash Mazda’s Miata party. Gotham Hall security was flexing their muscle by assuring everyone on line that they were wasting their time. “Nope, Nope, Nope,” one especially charming door man chanted as he walked down the line pointing at everyone that he decided had no chance of getting in.

The party was starting at 9:00. I was there by 8:00. At 10:00 I was still outside, and my group of friends had grown to 13 people. More fabulous people than us were walking past the velvet rope, and on to the red carpet, as the paparazzi snapped away. People getting in before us included Ashanti, Richard Belzer, Alan Cummings, and one of the Queer Eye guys.

The next part of the story is fuzzy, but I can assure you that all 13 of us managed to get in. There was free food, free booze….free coat check even. There were go-go dancers, Mazda projections, and really high ceilings. There were porn stars, car dealers, and lots of Flaming Lips fans in disguise. There were also Flaming Lips and Pussycat Dolls.

Have you heard of them? The Pussycat Dolls are to burlesque what Scores is to “exotic dancing.” They’re basically a bunch of scantily clad A-list stripper-like women, singing and dancing (and in this case, driving out on stage in the new Miata). Celebrities love to fill in as Pussycat Dolls. Past dolls include Christina Aguilera, Carmen Electra and Christina Applegate.

I’d estimate it was around midnight by the time the Pussycat Dolls finished warming up the crowd for the main event. By 12:30, the Flaming Lips took the stage with their arsenal of balloons & confetti, and army of furries. It was one of the most fun shows (with the worst sound) ever. Gotham Hall is a huge room that wasn’t even close to packed. By the time the Lips got off stage, it was probably only half full. It had the feel of a wedding that was wrapping up, but the wedding band was the Flaming Lips, and the backup dancers were people in animal costumes. Everyone was drunk. There was garbage everywhere. The sound system sounded like sh*t, and everyone was singing along. It was truly a dream.

I have pictures to prove everything in this post, but unfortunately I don’t have them right now. Look forward to pics of everything from The Go! Team to The Flaming Lips, Ashanti to the Pussycat Dolls.

I’ve been so busy, I can’t believe I got any posts out this week. I never did a show update, and I completely spaced the Shins shows that sold out in 10 minutes. Check Central Village, More Cowbell, and Gothamist for upcoming shows.

Daily Refill has more details on the Flaming Lips show.

I’ll talk to you soon.

Categories: