Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Sweet Spirit, High Waisted, Spiral Heads, William Tyler, Renee Maskin, Father's Day, and a Wedding, 6/14 - 6/16, 2019

Sweet Spirit at Rough Trade NYC

Inspiration

So, here's how things have been going around here lately.

I had a great weekend. Spent Friday evening with CoolMom at a lovely wedding. On Saturday, I headed into Brooklyn to see Sweet Spirit, High Waisted, and Spiral Heads. Sunday was Father's Day, of course. CoolMom and the cooldaughters made it a great day full of hugs, gifts, and great food. That evening, I headed over to The Saint for the early show from Renee Maskin and William Tyler.

Throughout the weekend, I had some interactions that made me feel pretty good about the site. People mentioned how they'd like to see me keep on trucking here. I got compliments from several folks on my photographs, and I heard some pretty affirming and validating things about what I've been doing here for the last seven years.

Rejuvenated and inspired, I planned to write about all of that here yesterday. Then... ...I just didn't. That's how things have been going. Motivation -- even after a run of fantastic experiences -- has been tough. I'm working on it.

Anyway.

CoolMom and I headed out to New Hope on Friday night for a wedding. The weather was beautiful, and so was the ceremony. I'd had tickets for Sweet Spirit's Philly stop for a while, but I ended up handing those over to Chris Dickman while CoolMom and I celebrated with friends.

I did manage to hump it over to Rough Trade on Saturday for Sweet Spirit's Brooklyn show. I've mentioned it before, but there's just something about what Sabrina Ellis, Andrew Cashen, and their bands get across through their various projects that fills my heart with joy at every one of their live performances. Saturday was no different. Sweet Spirit is the poppier, more accessible maybe, offshoot of A Giant Dog; but all of the passion and abandon are still there. People around me bopped non-stop to new songs "Touch" and "Los Lonely Girls" as well as older tunes like "Pamela," "Rebel Rebel," "The Power," and "I Wanna Have You." Sweating and singing along with Sweet Spirit: I'll take it any chance I can get.

Sweet Spirit
Sweet Spirit
Sweet Spirit

I brought my little, crop sensor Sony and a few primes so that I could travel light. The lighting was  a little rough. It made me wish I'd brought one of the full frames. And there were moments when I got too wrapped up in things to snap pictures. I managed a few shots, though. Such a great band to shoot.

High Waisted were also on this bill; and I, honestly, can't remember the last time I caught one of their sets. On Ludlow remains one of my favorite records; and hearing "Party in the Back," "Trust," and "Shithead" again put a big smile on my face. That was helped by the fact that High Waisted always bring it during their live shows. Also nice was getting the chance to catch up over by the merch table.

High Waisted
High Waisted

Spiral Heads, the latest project of Simon O'Connor of Simon Doom, opened as the space was filling up. Jess Dye of High Waisted walked by just after Spiral Heads finished their set and echoed my own thoughts when she said to me, "Did you catch that last band? They fuckin' rocked."

Spiral Heads
Spiral Heads

After a really beautiful and lazy Father's Day spent out by the pool, I headed down to Asbury for the early show at The Saint featuring William Tyler and best bud, Renee Maskin. Whether it's with Lowlight or solo, every set from Renee is a unique and intimate experience. She lives in her songs; and, no matter how many times I hear them, they sound fresh and true.

Renee Maskin
Renee Maskin

William Tyler is a revelation. Tyler introduced most of his songs by relating what inspired them: solo drives through America's wide-open spaces, looking for life in the barren desert. And, as someone steeped in rock and pop, the idea to me that specific ideas could come across simply through the guitar, without lyrics, is a little foreign. But, damn, they do. The audience sat rapt and attentive; and, when I wasn't snapping a picture, I closed my eyes and let the sounds wash over me.

William Tyler
William Tyler
William Tyler

As I was leaving The Saint, I commented to a few friends that I'd had an "inspiring weekend." Inspiration hasn't come easily for me lately. That's not because the sources of inspiration have been fewer. I just think I've been less capable of responding to them than I have been in the past.

I managed to get all of the pictures from the weekend edited before going to bed on Sunday, and I woke up Monday with big plans to pump out some Real A+ Content TM. Then... well, we've been over this. Sweet Spirit, High Waisted, Renee Maskin, William Tyler, the coolfamily, and my friends all started to break through a bit this past weekend. Lots of cool stuff coming up in the next few weeks. Should be inspiring.

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