Bowery Ballroom

Ours played an amazing show here in September of 2008. I’d impulsively bought a ticket and flew in from Chicago to go. I’d never done that before — just picked up and flown somewhere for a concert — and this was a place I’d always heard about.

Bottom line? Amazing. Worth every penny. Beautiful sound, beautiful space, and fairly-priced drinks for Manhattan.

I saw one of my favourite bands from home (i.e. Australia, not home as in Canberra – they’re from St Kilda in Melbourne), The Cat Empire here tonight.

They would have to be close to the best live band I’ve seen, in that they never play a song the same way twice, they work the audience to a frenzied inferno, and basicially make it so that everyone in the room wants to make love to them (shame they are all guys for the straight guys and lesbians in the room ;).

Every time I see them something strikes me about their performance. Tonight it was Harry’s newfound ability to sing amazingly, in a different style to before (his usual quirky, scat type stuff).

This was my latest installment in the ‘go to stuff on my own deliberately’ series, and I did kind of interact with the people around me (if only on the level of “I love this song” and singing along), though I have to admit it wasn’t totally deliberate in that my friend wanted to come too but by the time I found out they were sold out (but them none of them were 100% deliberate, it’s more about not missing out on something just because you’d have to go on your own, and being just as happy going on your own as if you went with friends because you get to meet people and have unpredictable wild experiences that you might miss out on in a group).

My feet are killing me!

I use to work here. The crew in this Ballroom rules. If you see Kenny the soundman or Camron the crazy hells angel bouncer tell ’em “salad” said hi and misses the fuck out of them.