7/21/2006: Lolita's on the Lower East Side

What is Lolita's? Just another bar, offering some nice seating, exposed brick walls, unobtrusive tunes, an artsy professional crowd, who enjoy $5 -$10 cocktails, new art, and sharing a bathroom. For the relaxed evening with friends crowd.

7/21/2006: The Frank Smith "Experience" at the Living Room

When life gets exciting, or adventurous, I go places. Like the Frank Smith Show at the Living Room, an oddly ambient and ambiguously designed small venue featuring a roots-rock urban cowboy menage-a-six, where oddly enough, the deisel button-down western plaid trucker hat wearing adidas pumping crowd was no-where to be found..... except, at every table. Despite the annoying person behind me keeping the beat with his toe slingers on my chair, the band easily took me into wonderland.....

"Are these guys good?" I thought to myself. Well, after trying to get past the foggy cloud of cool air and new york snobbery, I found a humble pie band of talented and dedicated musicians, of all ages and unique personalities. While I tend to seek exhibitionist performaces at their most garish (see Scissor Sisters), I equally found myself tapping my foot and exploring the good lyricism and musicianship, amongst the tortured, apathetic, and equally energetic banjoings.

"Will I see them again?" Probably not until they work on making their sound a bit more edgy. Frank Smith delivers a purly rock-cowboy alt-country sound addled with a little hard rock (thanks to the influence of the drummer mayhaps?) and seems too influenced (see Dylan and Mark Lanegan) yet to break ground for the daring ear, but it doesn't mean their sound is crisp, their lyrics great, and their talent universal. These guys should be watched carefully. Hopefully they will refine like a nice bottle of malt over time.

7/21/2006: 538 Hart St. Apt. #1

This evening Greg and I found our fledgling selves at 538 Hart St., an unpromising but up-n-coming neighborhood bordering Bushwick and E. Williamsburg. While I would say we were initially turned off by the sign for the exterminator visit, the tweaked out woman on the corner, the suspiciously empty plastic twenty baggie in the hallway, and a broken wine glass in the corner hall, the apartment was magnificent. See for yourselves. Go to my Flickr Page.

7/21/2006

Today involved my new Friday routine. At the gorgeous City Hall of NYC. On the 25th Fl, I begin my in studio journey into public radio, hoping and wishing that I can survive the competition, and keep up with the buzz.