Mindergran

Oh my children...those of you who gather here at the ragged end of nowhere are no strangers to tales of rock and roll glory and flying to far away lands, nor to tales of stinkybus woe and misery. But Thursday...Thursday was fucking grand.


I began the day at 3:30am EST, leaving at 4 for a 6am flight out of Newark. All went smoothly except for the fact that nothing's open at the airport until 5:30, so I had to give breakfast a miss. My flight was thru O'hare which is always a fun and exciting place to be at 7am on a weekday. Again though, me and my first class self glided through the madness like the seasoned pros that we are. Even when "lady with a baby" sat next to me, which is never what you want to see, things were ok as said baby didn't cry but instead did other baby things like sleep and drool and smile at you. Got into SF and took BART into the city where I went straight to Zazie for breakfast with Val. Nothing like eggs scrambled with dungeness crab and wilted pea shoots and a side of gingerbread pancake with lemon curd and roasted pears to soften a landing. It felt good to be in the cool clean SF air after the hot, sticky, hot-garbage-and-urine air of NYC. Belly full I got back into public transport land (my experience with SF MUNI stations and their unfathomable payment system was my only true frustration thus far, but nothing a little panhandling couldn't fix). Off to Berkeley I was, to fetch my car. Goldie. Goldie Looking Car. Goldie Apparatus. I picked it up from the lot I've been trying to sell it out of and dropped it at the dealership for repair (I've since found out it'll only cost $750 to fix!! JOY!!). I picked up a rental and went to Chad & Erin's (or Cherin if you're into the whole brevity thing) where I'm staying. Not a bad day so far. Next we hooked up with their friends Krys and Marissa and headed to the Great American Music Hall for Grinderman. This, my children, is where things got epic.


This was simply one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed, hands down. For those who don't know, Grinderman is the latest project of Nick Cave. It's a more stripped down, raw approach than his Bad Seeds stuff and the record is great. Live it was as if Nick and Co. were saying to every rock band that ever was "you are all a bunch of fucking pussies". To see such a massive slice of rock in such a small venue was almost too much to take.


After playing the whole Grinderman record they came back out and "tried" to play some Bad Seeds songs, which they proceeded to rock the ass out of. Then a "very, very, very special guest" came out to sing "The Weeping Song" and the crowd went apeshit (especially Erin). I was clueless who this obviously doped up singer was who couldn't remember half the lyrics or focus his eyesight enough to read them off of Nick's lyric sheet. Apparently he's some guy from some German industrial band that was in the Bad Seeds for a while. Apparently it was the best thing ever but to me he only embarrassed himself. Apparently I don't know shit when it comes to German industrial legends. Regardless, this will go down as an all-time favorite rock experience.

Fly Away Home

In 6 hours I'll be heading to Newark for a 6am flight to SF via O'Hare. I wish it was for fun but it's mainly to deal with my car which has been the bane of my existence since I left SF in May. Here's a nice view of Midtown from my roof...


Gee Marc, maybe people won't think you're Albert so often if you stop carrying guitars with his name emblazoned on them thru major airports. Maybe?


Life in the business lounge...

Lustwaffel

I did so much nothing today that I almost felt guilty. Almost. I got in from Paris last night so I used jet-lag as an excuse. The MSG Dispatch shows went really well. It was a really cool thing to be a part of. A great crew pulling off a logistical nightmare to raise a bunch of money for people who are really suffering. Having the African Children's Choir really made the thing hit home for me. Here's these kids (22 of them) probably 6-10 years old, from places like Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Places where all these fucked up statistics actually gravely impact the lives of kids just like these, and they were just the sweetest kids you can imagine.


It really put things in perspective in terms of complaining about the downsides of my life. I felt like Spinal Tap at Graceland. Too much fucking perspective. Anyway, you can go here and learn more about it and donate some money. Seriously.

The day after the last show I flew to Vienna via Frankfurt to meet up with Team Albert. It was 100 degrees in Vienna when I landed and the address of the club was only the name of a bridge and the name of a canal. So there I was, sleep-deprived standing on the sidewalk in Vienna with no phone and all my luggage in oppressive heat. Thank god I speak exactly 3 words of German. Actually, thank god everyone in Europe speaks English and I was pointed towards the filthy rock-hole of a gig where I would waste my first time in Vienna hiding in the air-conditioned dressing room. Munich wasn't much better, especially as the bus, in typical UK bus fashion, has no AC when it's not moving and smells like a toilet. The gigs were good though and we were off to Angouleme, France, where life was much more civilized (we even killed 10 hours in Dijon en route). We played a nice festival on a grassy hill. The weather was much more enjoyable and there was a sweet old French town on the hill in the distance.

We played to about 10,000 people and ate delicious food & wine all day. More evidence that it's Paris, not France in general, that is too full of assholes to be enjoyable.

Matt pauses for some rose in the French woods...


Next was Benicassim in Spain. We did this one last year with the Strokes. This year we opened the main stage and we're in the midst of slaying somewhere near 20,000 folks when all the power went out mid-song. It was frustrating as hell for me but in the end it was pretty rock. Their measly power supplies could not withstand our particular brand of rock.

Just before it went dark & quiet...

From there we went back to France. Nimes to be precise. This was one of the most amazing gigs I've ever done. It was a Roman Coliseum built in 27BC. Gladiators used to fight to the death in the exact spot where I mixed from. After we played I walked around the very top of the arena watching Arctic Monkeys and Arcade Fire play. Good times. And of course, catering was some of the best food ever. We boarded the bus for an overnight to Paris and my all-time least favorite airport (Charles de Gaulle). Now I'm back in NYC until Thursday when I fly to SF to deal with my god-damned car. My trip may include re-enacting the end of Harold & Maude by driving it off a cliff. If I do, I promise I'll video it.

Just another day at the office...

Bri gives the peace sign...

Arcade Fire gets all grandiose...