Tuesday, July 9, 2019

What's Been Going On?

Titus Andronicus at Rough Trade NYC

So, What Have I Been Up To?

I always kinda hate reading blog posts that are like, "Sorry. I know I haven't posted in a while." But, sorry...?

For a variety of reasons, I haven't been feeling the fire that I used to around here. Some of it is feeling the need to maintain some perspective about what's important in life. Some of it is probably just age. Some of it is wanting to spend more time with the coolfamily before the cooldaughters start to move on to the next big phases in their lives. Some of it is... ...well, I don't really know.

I felt a little surge of inspiration around Father's Day Weekend with shows from Sweet Spirit / High Waisted, William Tyler / Renee Maskin. Then, later that week, I got out to a great show with White Reaper, TWEN, and Dentist. It felt like I was getting back in the groove.

Sweet Spirit at Rough Trade NYC
High Waisted at Rough Trade NYC
William Tyler at The Saint
Renee Maskin at The Saint
Dentist at Wonder Bar
TWEN at Wonder Bar
White Reaper at Wonder Bar

The following weekend, I hit both local release shows with Titus Andronicus for An Obelisk. I got to watch and talk to my favorite band. I took a bunch of pretty cool pictures. But I never got around to saying anything about the shows. Same for the excellent Happy Mondays that week with Daddies, QWAM, and Shut Up.

Titus Andronicus at Rough Trade NYC
Titus Andronicus at Rough Trade NYC
Titus Andronicus at vintage Vinyl
QWAM at Wonder Bar
Shut Up at Wonder Bar
Daddies at Wonder Bar

As usual, though, our fantastic contributors, Henry and Rosi, kept the content coming with Henry's reviews and a truly in-depth interview with Chris Stamey and Rosi's coverage of Screaming Females and Swearin' at Brooklyn's Industry City. Tom Barrett also honored us with the opportunity to premiere his solo EP, Three Songs.


Screaming Females by Rose Lamela at Industry City
Swearin' by Rose Lamela at Industry City

This past weekend, CoolMom and I hit the heartwarming (and body-roasting) show with The RockNRoll Hi-Fives and Mulch (who we all know by now is Dentist, right?) at Asbury Park Yacht Club; and I made a last-minute decision to catch Potty Mouth and Colleen Green at Asbury Park Brewery on Sunday night. That was a good call. More pictures.

"Mulch" at APYC
The RockNRoll Hi-Fives at APYC
Potty Mouth at Asbury Park Brewery
Colleen Green at Asbury Park Brewery

I've also been listening to lots of stuff including new albums from Pip Blom, Mannequin Pussy, Rick Barry, and of course Titus Andronicus. Reviews haven't been coming as easily as they used to, but I plan on writing something about at least a couple of these.

Anyway...

What am I saying? I'm not sure, really. I've toyed with the idea of saying that, for all intents and purposes, I'm done here; but I don't think that's the right call. It's been fun spending more time at home with the coolfamily, riding my bike, and watching my Yankees / Mets games; but I also love taking and editing pictures. And almost nothing makes me happier than the feeling of being at a live performance for a band that I love. Every one of those shows I mentioned above elevated my frame of mind for, at least, a little while.

So, I guess, I'm going to keep doing whatever it is I've been doing here as best I can for a little while. I'll continue to share whatever Henry, Rosi, and whoever else want to provide. I'll tote my camera along to shows, and I'll do my best to help my friends find places to play their music. And I'll always be a place where artists can share their art if they want to continue to give me that opportunity.

I haven't been reading emails or messages as religiously as I used to, and I'm sorry for that; but that kind of stuff has taken kind of a backseat to things like driving the girls around or riding my bike by the beach.

Thanks for reading and thanks for sticking with me.

Oh! And don't forget to come out to The Saint on 7/29 for the show... ...No! THE THING!... ...I've been most excited about this summer. You might get to see my heart burst right out of my chest, and you'll have a blast.

Poster by Matt Hockenjos

In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram at @cooldadmusic. All the pictures I take eventually show up in the Flickr account.

Peace.

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