You think you're god because you have a robe and you can put people up the goddamn river for 20 years? Well you're not.

this week, i had the ultimate pleasure of crossing a big thing off my "things to do before i die" list. and that was seeing godspeed you! black emperor live. i've been listening to them for a while, and they are almost undescribable. droning, post-apocalyptic, intense tracks with no vocals except occasional random audio samples that consist of things like interviews with bums and weirdos on the street.

they haven't played nyc since 2003 i believe. maybe 2002, and for the most part disbanded. they originally announced two new york dates last year and the tickets went on sale on my birthday, last september. got a call from my boy frank that day and said that he got us tickets for both dates. the shows sold out in about an hour and godspeed actually wound up adding 3 more new york shows. and after seeing them wednesday and thursday, i wish i would have gotten tickets for every one of those shows. they will probably never tour again, and seeing them live was such a complete mindfuck. i feel blessed to be a part of that history.

we saw them wednesday night in brooklyn at the brooklyn masonic temple and on saint patricks day at st. paul the apostle church in manhattan:


i've been to the brooklyn masonic temple for shows before, and it's a pretty cool venue. but the church on saint patricks day was one of the most intense things i've ever seen live. it's a huge stone church on columbus between 59th & 60th. the inside is all these huge carved stone arches and stained glass windows. we sat in fucking pews and watched this show.

the band consists of 4 guitar players, a bass player who also plays an upright bass, a violinist, a percussionist and a drummer. during the shows, they are basically shadows with a projection screen backdrop behind them flashing almost-brainwashing images behind the band throughout the entire show.

between the two days, they played a ton of stuff that i wanted to hear, including this track.. rockets fall on rocket falls:



(these videos weren't from the shows i was at, but are from this most recent tour. strangely enough, there were many points during both of those shows where you could look around and not see a single person holding up a camera or a phone to take pictures or video. it was that intense.)

maybe i'd be better off talking to a wall.

my camera actually takes pretty decent video. if you missed this last night, i feel bad for you.

fiasco.

yesterday was saint patrick's day. supposedly, this whole crew of people were going to the city. but of course, everyone backed out besides myself and andrew, so we hopped the train at 12:30. we got into the city before 1:30 and we met up with eric mcguire, jen murphy, her dad and her two friends. andy and i drank on the train and it's safe to say we were feeling nice by about 2:30.

we started on 46th street, stopped a few places along the way to desmond's, which is on park between 29th and 30th. eric used to work there. they had an amazing cornbeef sandwich which ruled. we met up with appio there. jimtoxicated came through. kelswizzle and krystal also made an appearance. pat elliot came through with his cousin from ireland. by the time i left there, i was totally shitbombed and it was about 7pm. we took a cab to ludlow and hit up motor city, hoping that our boy dan would be bartending, but he wasn't. we had fun either way.

me and andy took the train back a little before 10. we actually took the wrong train, but luckily it transferred in secaucus so we didn't get fucked. we got to dingos around 11 and andy wound up passing out in the back of d-block's pervert van and getting a ride home. i drank a lot of shots and chilled with jannson, addie, missy, laura, freddy and mad other people. i met some bird with a boyfriend but she gave me her number anyway. i stayed there until closing and beyond, and finally left around 3:30 to meet up with my brother, jay and missy at the bunker.

i put a bunch of flicks from the parade on myspace if ya wanna peep em. next year, people better get their shit together and come to the city.

december 14.

unfortunately i will be working, but if you get a chance, go check out my boys at the pyramid in NYC. voice or no voice. they rule and they will be playing with a shitload of good bands that day. should make for a good time.