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.

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.