No Niblett…But Brass Playing Astronauts…
Really used to be a piano store...
So…my aforementioned journey to see Scout Niblett was a failure…
Went out in the rain after an especially bad day at work, got on the train, got off at the wrong stop, got back on the train, got off at the right stop, found Union Pool, entered the bar, saw the the show was two dollars more than expected, asked what the progress was, the second band was just going on.
The bar wasn’t as much of a hipster* nightmare as I expected. Everyone seemed fairly normal, in fact. Does this mean I’m already enmeshed deeply into hipsterdom? About three minutes into being there, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I ignored it for a few seconds because that’s what I do instinctively in bars, but it turned out to be one of my fellow Albuquerque migrants and old co-workers who I haven’t seen since my birthday. And by the way, he’s definitely not a hipster.
It’s comforting AND creepy to know that even in New York you will run into people you know at bars.
Anyway…we shared a smoke outside and talked for a while, then I went back inside to go pay for the show…which was by that time…about fifteen minutes later…sold out. FAIL.
Oh Niblett…how I pine for thee!
Not all has been lost on the live music front though. A few nights before, I went to a bar down the street from me in Manhattan called Pianos. Apparently it really used to be a piano store, just like Union Pool used to be a pool supply store. This turning of old stores into bars and keeping the names has become somewhat of a hipster trademark out here. This bar was refreshingly divey compared to most I’ve seen in Manhattan and reminded me a lot of the Launchpad.
Astronauts
The band I came to see is called Brasstronaut, and they’re pretty much exactly what their name implies. They started out as a jazz combo in college and then went on to become an indy band. The blur on the far left is a guy rocking out on the clarinet, and the blur in plaid is playing a french horn. Then of course there is the quintessential indy synthesizer/keyboard guy in the middle, and drums and bass in the back. They opened up by saying “Hi, we’re Brasstronaut. We’re from Vancouver. We’ve been
A girl and her synth. Opening act. Only caught two of her songs but she was actually BAD ASS. Kind of Niblett-y herself.
on tour for three weeks escaping the Olympics, but they’re over now, thank god.” It was a really solid set. You could tell these guys had been formally trained. And they were friendly and Canadian, too!
Then…to further practice my hipster ways, I bought one of their LPs. Good god does brand new vinyl sound nice!
Also on the music front, a super cool co-worker, long time musician, British guy named Phil, who I kind of adore, is interested in me playing bass for his weirdo experimental…dance hall…noise…electronic seeming…band thing. So far it’s just him and this vocalist who apparently has a really out there, androgynous voice. Phil’s on synth, this guy is singing, and they want someone for rhythm and possibly backing vocals. So far it seems like Phil and I have pretty compatible taste, but he keeps telling me, vaguely morosely “it’s kind of weird…you might not like it…” He’s bringing me a CD tomorrow, and even if I don’t particularly like it, I’m so antsy to get out and play that I’m sure I’ll say yes anyhow! Besides…ya know…desperate for friends.
More music updates to come…
*I use the word “hipster” a lot in this post. Let it be known that I don’t think that “hipsters” really exist. I think that people hate “hipsters” because there are some obnoxious people who are trust fund kids, for example, who can hang out in thrift stores and coffee shops all day. People who have nothing better to do but try to look cool. But in truth, this is a pretty small cross-section of the population. Everyone else who might wear the same hat or like the same band gets lumped in with these degenerates. It’s a word that has become synonymous with insincerity, but like any cultural subgroup, if you want to say it even is one, it’s made of people who are legitimately passionate and also those who are trying too hard to seem that way.
“And they were friendly and Canadian, too!”
Are you surprised that people can be both Canadian AND friendly?
“Let it be known that I don’t think that “hipsters” really exist.”
We are going to have to go to a bar sometime and argue about the ontology of hipsters. This conversation needs to happen, but alas,cannot happen anywhere besides a bar, maaaaybe a coffeeshop. Preferably where hipsters are present.
a) This post was confusing because my dad’s name is Bob too…and he’s posted comments as “Bob”, but obviously you sound nothing like my dad. (Why would my dad want to talk to me about hipsters in a bar?)
b) I take it as a given that Canadian people will be friendly. They just earned extra points for not being American.
c) I would love to have a philosophical conversation about hipsters while we observe them in the field. They’ve been a bit of a puzzle to me lately. This will happen eventually.