Best Holiday for People Who Like Acting All Smart, Year 2

Hey, it's Bloomsday again! I refer you to my post from last year. This is my post from last year, about Bloomsday.

Best Unexpected Bestness

Monday night we went out to Williamsburg to see Architecture in Helsinki at North Six. I had no previous Architecture in Helsinki experience and didn't know what to expect, except that I knew there were going to be a lot of people in the band.

It turns out that they're a totally decent and likeable. Remember how in grade school every year there'd be a music day where each grade put on a musical act and maybe you all learned some rudimentary instrument, like the recorder or wood block or maybe some sort of xylophoney device, and you played and sang some song? Now, imagine if your class stayed together for the next twenty years and kept practicing. What you'd wind up with in that situation would be Architecture in Helsinki.

Pictures of the band without captions, how would you feel about those?



















As pleasant a diversion as Architecture in Helsinki proved to be, they seriously didn't have to play until 12:30. They kept playing songs that made me think "Ok, this is the last one" but no, there would be more music. I'm not used to getting so much for $10.

Oh, and in case you're making a funny literal joke in your head about Architecture in Helsinki, here's a site about the actual architecture in Helsinki.

Head of Femur (a Chicago band) was the opening act. They weren't so bad, either. Just of guys with big mops of hair singing and playing their instruments, that's so Chicago.

Best Excess in Discretion

As you may recall, yesterday was a big day for Michael Jackson. Here at work we all snuck into an attorney's office and watched far too much of the verdict coverage. Later, as I stepped out of the groundfloor elevator to leave work I found myself face to face with a wall of newscameras and reporters and newstrucks outside the front doors of the building. Security directed all employees out side exits as the media waited for someone to come forward to make some sort of comment on the verdict.



Now, I don't mean to post nearly identical photos, but do you see the gentleman in the hat on the left side of this photo? As I walked down Madison towards the subway (passing cars who's occupants were yelling "Michael Jackson Free! Michael Jackson Free!") he was walking right alongside me and suddenly I found myself face to face with the Reverand Al Sharpton coming the other direction. The fellow in the hat stopped walking, I assumed out of awe and wonder (as I was struck with nearly the same feeling) and Al said to him "What's going on, are they giving you trouble?" I assume Sharpton didn't mean to be asking the guy if, in general, people gave him trouble, but the inquiry had to do with the press assembled in front of the building. Were I not so determined to go home, I may have stuck around to see if Sharpton was going to be making a statement for the reporters, or whatever.



UPDATE Turns out that it was an Al Sharpton news conference thrown by Al Sharpton. And that the wall of reporters was only a scrum. According to the Chicago Tribune.

Best Most Important Art Show

Saturday I went to see the "I Pity the Dolls" show at the Orchard Street Art Gallery.



You see, there's this guy, and he's been collecting Mr. T dolls and now he has over 150 of them and now they're on exhibit there until July.



The dolls were all made from this pattern book that was published in 1984. It's all explained a lot better here. (I like it when it says on that page: "This is the most important collection of Mr. T. handmade dolls in existence.")



Also, they were playing this old Mr. T Video that I think I remember seeing at somepoint during my gradeschool education. I think.



There was other Mr. T-related art on hand as well.



But really, it was all about the dolls . . .









































Also, they had a bunch of new dolls that had recently been made by a variety of artists. It seemed that many of the artists interpreted the pattern quite liberally.





















Undoubtably the most important collection of homemade Mr. T dolls that I have ever seen.

Best Wednesday Night Concert

I just ate too much Kentucky Fried Chicken. It seems I'm always saying stuff like that. Anyway, I ate too much chicken and don't know what to say about lastnight's MIA show. These are the facts:

1) The show was at S.O.B's in Soho. That's "Sounds of Brazil"'s. It was a slightly odd space for the show, if you ask me.
2) The first DJ of the night played lots of Hip Hop over Indian music (uhm, Bhangra, right? I'd hate to call it that and be wrong). Lots of it was great, especially her mix of "Dirt Off Your Shoulder." I gave her the thumbs up (literally) after that one. Oh, and she playd DJ Tiga's version of "Hot in Herre", so good job with that too, mysterious Indian Lady DJ.
3) The second DJ was DJ Marlboro, proclaimed to be the hottest Brazilian baile funk DJ there is. Ok, if you say so. He was pretty great, I probably would have paid money just to hear him playing songs I sort of recognized, but probably not as much as I paid for tonight's show.
4) MIA's DJ was a real dirtbag. That's the impression I got. But the funny thing was that her usual DJ, Diplo, who made her mixtape and everything, was at the show . . . just not playing the records. Which was too bad, as DJ Dirtbag messed up a few things real bad during the show.
5) MIA was great, of course, and we were right right up in the front. (I suppose you could figure that out from the photos). Her set was just barely 30 minutes, which is to be expected, I suppose, as she only has twelve or thirteen songs anyway.

Like before, the set started with this video mix of a press conference with George W. Bush and Tony Blair where Bush keeps interrupting Blair to say "M.I.A." What, were we back at Zoo TV?





After the video mix ended it took a few minutes for MIA to get to the stage through the crowd, which threw the energy off a little, but then she got down to business and it was good.






The idea of this photo is a lot better than the look of the photo.



Near the end of the show I thought: Hey, I'm really close to her, maybe I'll use the flash? Something I hardly ever do at concerts.









It was good. Sorry I didn't have so much to say. Like I said, too much chicken.