LCD Soundsystem self-titled debut, $16

This CD is CPR for a dead party. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a good gift for the cool couple that throws all those parties in their cramped Brooklyn living room. Ahem.

from Amazon.com

Courtney Kaiser and Cat Martino

The Sirens of Brooklyn is a group of female indie rockers; they’re doing a holiday benefit concert for Women To Women International - a non profit organization dedicated to helping women all over the world who have lost everything as a result of war and conflict.  It won’t be their usual rock show -  it’s a choir concert featuring unique twists on traditional Christmas songs, classic modern holiday songs and Yoko Ono!

Featuring Marit Bergman, Courtney Kaiser (from the duo Kaiser Cartel – Hey Brooklyn episode 2), Cat Martino, Julia Frodahl (from Edison Woods), Rachelle Garniez, Lauren Balthrop, Liz Tormes, Katie Eastburn, Greta Gertler, Erin Flannery, Joy Askew…

The details:

Thursday, December 17, 2009
8:00pm

First Unitarian Church
50 Monroe Place
Brooklyn, NY

Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door

pre-sale tickets are available here

Other people have done it since, but Judy did it first, and so elegantly. (The more cheerful, “hang a shining star upon the highest bough” replaced the original “until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow” in 1957).

Today I left Connecticut in the late afternoon and got to drive down Rt. 15 with all the colors of the leaves magnified as the sun shone through them at an angle. Then I got to the City when it was dark, just in time to see the Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines start to twinkle. In other words, it was a pretty frigging awesome ride back home.

***

There aren’t a lot of bands that I LOVE love, but the Long Winters is one of them, and tonight we had tickets to see the lead singer, John Roderick, perform right around the corner from us. He was taking requests, and when there was a divide between two songs someone (who I may or may not be married to) called out he should do verses from one and choruses from the other. John mulled it over, and then did it which was SO cool.

I did not call out any requests, because I am not an “audience participation” kind of person. I like my performances performed for me while staying stoic and quiet, the result of years of, “Amber, stand up! Clap your hands! You better sing young lady! Sing and clap! Clap for Jesus!” and me thinking “I DO NOT WANT TO FUCKING CLAP FOR JESUS!”

But I did (of course, because I was Good) and now, when a person on stage says “call out a request!” or “sing along!” or “this is the part where YOOOOOU come in!” I refuse. No way. I’m not going there again.

It was a great show.

It’s cute boys from Norway who have guitars and soft voices. They’ve been friends since they were ten. So sweet. Their new album is out, the first since 2004. It is called Declaration of Dependence.

You’ve seen this right? Probably. But I just had to make sure.

Israel Darling is from in and around Greensboro, NC.  They’re playing at Pianos in Manhattan tonight and Spike Hill in Brooklyn tomorrow.  I don’t have the audio from our interview yet, but I wanted to post about it now so you can check out their music and then make plans to go see them. I’ll add the audio to this post when I have it edited down.  The music is awesome!

There are more folks in the band, but these are the ones that came to interview today.  During our photoshoot, Anna laughed about how they were all wearing plaid!

We recoded at Let ‘Em In Studios (website coming soon: letemin.com), which is an amazing brand new space here in Brooklyn in the Park Slope/Gowanus area.  It’s very cozy which I like, and we all felt at home sitting around chatting into the mics.  If you’re interested using the studio you can contact Nadim at 718-625-2112.  He’s the owner and engineer, so you don’t have to know how to use the equipment, you just bring yourself.

matty’s modeling debut

I’m doing my very first Hey Brooklyn giveaway!  Friday’s episode features Porter Block and we’re giving away their latest CD The Gowanus Yacht Club. It’s a collaborative work featuring a lot of different singer-songwriters, and makes fantastic summer listening. Go to the episode page for details.

Please note: Only the CD is being given away. That cuddly dude with the soft brown eyes is mine-all-mine!

This past weekend was pretty much the best ever.

Friday was opening day at the brand spanking new Yankee Stadium, and I was there! Our family has eight seats this season: really good ones by third base and really frigging amazing ones behind home-plate, in a section that has nice squishy comfy seats and waiter service.

photo by Rob… obviously!

Rob’s sister and family took the really good seats and me, Rob, his brother and Carissa took the “merely awesome” seats, and during the second half of the game we snuck into the squishy seats because the stadium wasn’t full.

Saturday was Carissa’s birthday, and we went bowling (I got the worst score in the group of 11 that were playing: a 66. It’s time for some practice. I found, though, that I do better when I “granny bowl”, which is using both hands, swinging the ball a few times between your knees and then launching it gently down the lane. This is a technique I developed when I was little and my hand was too small for the bowling ball’s finger holes. Using this method on Saturday got me laughed at, but it made me a better bowler so I didn’t care.)

“happy face, sad face, scary face, surprised face!”

After bowling we went to a bar that had a taco truck in the back and a photobooth inside, and boy oh man, do I ever love tacos and photobooths.

Then we went to see Bishop Allen, which was so, so awesome.

I bought their new album called “Grrr” after the show; it is fantastic. Of course.

Sunday I went to Coney Island and interviewed the creative director of the museum for Hey Brooklyn.  Rob and I walked around after that, and I snapped a photos.  This is something I haven’t done in too long.  We had gone last week and it wasn’t open, so there were only a few people straggling around.  This week was the first open weekend, and everyone was out basking in the sun.  If you haven’t gone, you should.  It’s an experience.

Sunday night Stu! came over for tea and cheese. She sat while I cleaned the kitchen. Having her there to chat with while I bustled around made me WAY productive, and I managed to achieve what Rob and I call “Dish Zero”: a state in which all the dirty dishes are cleaned. That almost never happens around here.

Monday we went to opening day at the Oriole’s park in Baltimore with our friend Gavin.  He is Rob’s co-host for Put It In Your Ears, and I suggest you not listen if you are easily offended by immature humor.  We went to Hooters after, which was amusing to say the least.

The warm weather has given me “get up and go”ituide. Rob said it’s like he has his wife back, which made me sad. I know the winter was hard for him, because I went for days on end absolutely refusing to leave the apartment because of the cold, and that made us both miserable.

It’s good to be back.

My friend Phil is an amazing musician. This song he did called “Smiling Sun” makes me really happy.