weaklazyliar

17 August, 2002

Thursday night I went out to see weaklazyliar at 10 High. It was an odd show. It was their drummer’s last show with them, though no one knew it (well, they did, obviously). I got up and sang backing vocals on three songs, which I love to do. They always smile at me when I do it, too, which is kind of cute.

Still, there was an understandably weird feeling about the show. Bittersweet. They played a great show, I thought. I don’t think they care for playing a place like 10 High, which I can understand. They’re really the antithesis of the typcial club band. They play subtle, understated, intelligent stuff, and you have to listen to it for it to get you. It’s almost impossible to get the general crowd to pay attention at a club long enough to realize there’s something important going on, unless you’re making their eardrums bleed. But, hell, Wilco can travel around drawing crowds playing that sort of understated, smart stuff, there’s no reason in the world why weaklazyliar can’t do it, too. There’s a reason why, after they got a simple artist card shown after they used their music in the last episode of Felicity that they suddenly sold out at amazon. You have to listen, you have to hear what they’re doing in some sort of context.

I felt very special getting to play a small part in Joe’s last show. I worry about them now. I love them as a band (I honestly think the November Diaries is one of the best albums of the year, in fact, go buy it, will you?) and as people. I worry that the process of having to continually beat your head against the apathy of the typical crowd will cause them to finally say enough is enough. With Joe leaving I think they feel strange about continuing. They had really developed over the past few years and had become a band with an identity, a tight-knit group, which is rare for a local band, I think. But to me, that also serves to make it easier to continue now. The music is strong enough and has its own face now, so to speak, it has become bigger than the sum of its parts. It’s strong enough to survive such a potentially drastic change. I think the real question now is whether they feel it’s worth it to themselves.

I really do hope that, a year from now, I get to sit down and hear rough mixes from a new CD, and see where it is they’re heading. The November Diaries is a fantastic record, but it doesn’t need to be a swansong. It needs to be a preview. It’s a roadmap, not a destination.

13 May, 2002

12 May: Atlanta

12 May – Eddie’s Attic (Atlanta, GA)
with Alastor, weaklazyliar

The entire show seemed to go off without a hitch, really. Alastor opened with an acoustic set. Actually, it was just Elizabeth and Scott (who used to be in Alastor), but I haven’t seen them play together since last September, so that was actually really good to see again.

Then we went on. I felt really relaxed last night, and I couldn’t even begin to explain why. We rehearsed just before the show, but we’ve done that plenty of times. Maybe it’s the room, because Eddie’s is an odd room to do an electric show in, a small stage, less intimidating, but we’ve done a show there before and I can’t recall feeling that at ease. But whatever the reason, my heart or my shoes, I just felt really good. One thing I have noticed… I have always felt that a good deal of the success I am having with recording and with band shows is having surrounded myself with people who are extremely talented. I know it’s what you’re supposed to do, but when you have my mentality it’s hard to shake the feeling that the credit lies largely with them, since I’m the same guy who shortly beforehand was just playing solo at Borders and feeling very despondent. But lately I have felt a bit more like I am a part of it as well, some sort of sense that my abilities are growing, too.

Of course, one bad acoustic show will crush that right back out of me. 🙂

weaklazyliar played last. I was sitting in back talking with people, and talking about how tight they are. I think I am getting repetitive about them, so I’ll try to just sum up: they really went out on a limb for this record, and I know it was a beast to get it done. But it really is amazing, and the fact that they’re keeping the arrangements for live shows is just great. I know it probably can be daunting at times, playing songs that are sparse and quiet like that in a club, but I think it works, and if I had stumbled on them out of nowhere I would have just been blown away. I sang backup on a couple of songs with them. I keep telling them I’d do it on everything if they’d let me but so far they haven’t taken me up on it.

They seemed to be enjoying themselves, I hope I’m right about that. It was a fun show to watch. After the main set they played some older songs, a couple of them with other people doing the vocals. Elizabeth came up and sang “Rocketpop” and I sang “Secondhand.” Then we all did “American Girl” and drank a lemon drop shot (which, by the way, was really disgusting. I don’t know what’s in it). Then there was an encore song and Elizabeth and I tried to do parts on it even though we weren’t really prepared, I think we did okay, she played some guitar and I tried to find a backing vocal part on the fly.

It occurs to me that the last time the three of us all played together was last September and I remember feeling really great afterwards, and that was even me just playing acoustic. Clearly we should do it more often. For my sake, if nothing else. These are two bands who I want to see succeed, who I think are amazing for so many different reasons.

On a side note, I saw what is pretty much the final design for my CD last night. We went through one design already, which had a lot of things about it that I liked, but some things that didn’t work for me. Then, with the Daemon Records thing happening suddenly, all the plans went into the air, but now that they’ve sort of landed we’re back with more or less the same design specs, so we went back to tweak the last design. They brought it to me last night (they being Lauren and Rama at goodsforyou.com) and I just love the damn thing. It’s right on the nose of the feel I have wanted for the CD since I first started planning it back when recording on Slumberland was wrapping up.

It feels like things are happening. It’s fleeting at times, and still I remain overly cautious, I suppose. But when my negative tendencies are tired or weak, I can almost sense momentum of some kind. But I’m trying not to jinx it.

I forgot to mention one thing… after our set, Michelle Malone came up to say hi. She missed the actual set, I think, but said she had heard a lot of great things about me, and was working with her manager to set up some opening spots, so I guess that may actually come to pass. I am assuming Linda has talked me up to her, which would make one more thing I owe her for.

18 February, 2002

17 Feb: Atlanta

17 Feb – Eddie’s Attic (Atlanta, GA)
with Sue Witty, Gerlinda Grimes (from weaklazyliar)

This isn’t the first time, for some reason, that I’ve had to play a writers-in-the-round while sick with a cold or flu. I don’t know what the connection is. There are times that I think I should play all shows doped up or sick. I tend to be a lot less hard on myself than I normally am, and consequently I have a much looser, relaxed show.

But let’s start at the beginning…

Saturday night I went out to the newly rechristened 10 High (formerly the Dark Horse) to see weaklazyliar and sing backup on a couple of songs. I haven’t seen them do an all-out electric show in a long time, and I wondered if they were going to change the arrangements, but instead they played the new record from start to finish and kept it restrained and moody, which I think takes a hell of a lot more cajones. The new record is amazing and doesn’t need to be dressed up for a normal club crowd. They were closing for Doria Roberts, who had drawn the majority of the crowd. Which made it all the more odd that the crowd was talking, loudly, during the entire show, including Doria’s set. It seemed like they had come more to meet and greet than see her play, it was really odd to see.

Sunday was the writers-in-the round with Gerlinda and Sue. I was sick, it started to hit me before I went out saturday night to the show, but when I woke up Sunday morning I knew it was going to be a long haul for this show. When I loaded out to head to the club I took a nice big swig of Robutussin and hoped my voice would stay with me for the night.

Now, anyone reading this, please feel free to fill me in on how the show went, because, to be honest, I don’t recall much of it. I feel pretty sure my voice held out, which I was grateful for. That’s usually the first thing to go when I get sick, I can’t get enough air in to really hold a note (today I am suffering from it). I remember Sue and Gerlinda both played a lot of songs they don’t play often. I remember playing the theme song to my fake cartoon show at some point, which doesn’t really have any words. I remember making a lot of jokes, which may or may not have been funny. I played the new song and broke a string during the last chorus, and so I just finished it a cappela, which I don’t think I would have done without the aid of mind-altering cold medicine. I remember the crowd being bigger than I had expected, and thanks to everyone who made it out. Those shows are always a lot of fun when the crowd is a good size and they’re really enjoying themselves and you can work off them.

But still, I think I’m forgetting a lot of other things. I hope everyone had a good time.