Sidewalk Cafe (11/3/04)
New York, NY
This one was weird.
Because I was booked for the 7:30 time slot, I was unsure how many songs I'd have time to play. If the right soundperson is behind the board (she was), I can usually hit the stage by around 7:15 and squeeze in eight or nine songs. That can be cut in half if the chips don't fall right. I don't know what time I got started because there was some confusion at the beginning of the set. For some reason, my Taylor wasn't coming through the system plugged in, so after some nervous moments, we finally decided to just mic the darn thing and get on with it. I have to be more careful with my rocking back and forth when it's done this way, and I feel a little boxed in with all the mic stands on the stage, but we didn't lose any of the Taylor's sound.
I find these hit-and-run sets a little annoying because there are so many songs I enjoy playing right now—I don't usually leave the stage feeling satisfied. I was in the mood to play some new songs, so I opened with Post Call, which I'd written over the weekend. The album picture has become a little blurry over the last few weeks. I have seven new songs recorded and five more written. The material is organizing into concepts or, more accurately, themes. The new album will be about the arc of a failed relationship, and will include Dopamine (It's Love), Cloud 9, Charlene, (There's) Nothing To It, This Guy, and Frosted Flakes and Milk. I'll fill out the rest of the album as it comes to me. Post Call is part of a planned suite of music in four movements, some of it instrumental, that is inspired by my experiences at the hospital. I've decided to scrap the Intern Blog in favor of this project. I've already abandoned it for all intents and purposes (I just don't feel like reliving my days in print anymore), so why not make it official? I'll leave up the entries that are already there, but don't expect anything new from this tired intern. As for Reunion, What A Mess, and The Last One (for Stephen Bohler by way of Elliot Smith), I'm not sure where they'll fit in to the plan (outtakes?). We'll figure something out.
The point is you can now expect not one, but two new albums in the next few months. The first will be professionally mastered and available sometime this winter. The second may or may not be professionally mastered (if it's not, it will sound a little better than the Demographix CDs, Plain and Simple and Songs Without Hooks) and will be available sometime this spring. For those of you interested in meaningless working titles, the former is Pretty Girls Aren't Cool; the latter is Charades. I'm also planning to re-record a bunch of the older material for another Demographix CD. Most of you don't realize that there are hundreds of songs that predate Plain and Simple but are only preserved on poor-quality cassettes. I aim to rectify that.
Where was I? After Post Call, which featured a two-line third verse because I forgot the words, I opted to scrap This Guy (not ready for public consumption, yet) in favor of Reunion. Reunion is my favorite of the new tunes right now, and I hadn't played it live, yet. I think it went over nicely. Pretty Girls was the revelation of the night (Billy predicted it would be), and I got more comments about it than any other song. Have no fear - it's going to be on the new album and I'll have a demo version up on SoundClick ASAP. After three debuts in a row, I gave Charlene another try. I wasn't sure I would after the debacle in Scituate, but it came off fairly well, even though by now I couldn't hear myself at all because the monitor was fried. Truth be told, I had to play it—there were Australians in the audience!
Sean requested The Only Living Boy in New York, and I was happy to oblige. I hadn't played it since DTUT in September. First of May was just the trick for a now melancholy crowd, but I brought them back down with All of This Will Stay (once again the oldest song in the set) and Frosted Flakes and Milk. And then I called it a night.
Three people approached me after the show to tell me how much they appreciated the raw emotion. I don't think I'm overstating things when I say that this is the reason why I'm doing this. It's been happening more and more lately, in between the usual congratulations are these genuine, heartfelt wishes from people who were moved by my music. The new stuff seems to be striking a nerve with people, and I'm overwhelmed. I can't wait to get this album out, guys. I think we're going to have a lot of fun with it...
I thought it over and decided to accept invitations to return to The C-Note and Sidewalk soon. I was toying with the idea of a hiatus until the CD release, but why deny myself this simple pleasure. Stay tuned for dates....
Thanks to everyone who came out, especially the folks from work, who braved sleeplessness to show their support. Much obliged. See you soon, kids!
This one was weird.Because I was booked for the 7:30 time slot, I was unsure how many songs I'd have time to play. If the right soundperson is behind the board (she was), I can usually hit the stage by around 7:15 and squeeze in eight or nine songs. That can be cut in half if the chips don't fall right. I don't know what time I got started because there was some confusion at the beginning of the set. For some reason, my Taylor wasn't coming through the system plugged in, so after some nervous moments, we finally decided to just mic the darn thing and get on with it. I have to be more careful with my rocking back and forth when it's done this way, and I feel a little boxed in with all the mic stands on the stage, but we didn't lose any of the Taylor's sound.
I find these hit-and-run sets a little annoying because there are so many songs I enjoy playing right now—I don't usually leave the stage feeling satisfied. I was in the mood to play some new songs, so I opened with Post Call, which I'd written over the weekend. The album picture has become a little blurry over the last few weeks. I have seven new songs recorded and five more written. The material is organizing into concepts or, more accurately, themes. The new album will be about the arc of a failed relationship, and will include Dopamine (It's Love), Cloud 9, Charlene, (There's) Nothing To It, This Guy, and Frosted Flakes and Milk. I'll fill out the rest of the album as it comes to me. Post Call is part of a planned suite of music in four movements, some of it instrumental, that is inspired by my experiences at the hospital. I've decided to scrap the Intern Blog in favor of this project. I've already abandoned it for all intents and purposes (I just don't feel like reliving my days in print anymore), so why not make it official? I'll leave up the entries that are already there, but don't expect anything new from this tired intern. As for Reunion, What A Mess, and The Last One (for Stephen Bohler by way of Elliot Smith), I'm not sure where they'll fit in to the plan (outtakes?). We'll figure something out.
The point is you can now expect not one, but two new albums in the next few months. The first will be professionally mastered and available sometime this winter. The second may or may not be professionally mastered (if it's not, it will sound a little better than the Demographix CDs, Plain and Simple and Songs Without Hooks) and will be available sometime this spring. For those of you interested in meaningless working titles, the former is Pretty Girls Aren't Cool; the latter is Charades. I'm also planning to re-record a bunch of the older material for another Demographix CD. Most of you don't realize that there are hundreds of songs that predate Plain and Simple but are only preserved on poor-quality cassettes. I aim to rectify that.
Where was I? After Post Call, which featured a two-line third verse because I forgot the words, I opted to scrap This Guy (not ready for public consumption, yet) in favor of Reunion. Reunion is my favorite of the new tunes right now, and I hadn't played it live, yet. I think it went over nicely. Pretty Girls was the revelation of the night (Billy predicted it would be), and I got more comments about it than any other song. Have no fear - it's going to be on the new album and I'll have a demo version up on SoundClick ASAP. After three debuts in a row, I gave Charlene another try. I wasn't sure I would after the debacle in Scituate, but it came off fairly well, even though by now I couldn't hear myself at all because the monitor was fried. Truth be told, I had to play it—there were Australians in the audience!
Sean requested The Only Living Boy in New York, and I was happy to oblige. I hadn't played it since DTUT in September. First of May was just the trick for a now melancholy crowd, but I brought them back down with All of This Will Stay (once again the oldest song in the set) and Frosted Flakes and Milk. And then I called it a night.
Three people approached me after the show to tell me how much they appreciated the raw emotion. I don't think I'm overstating things when I say that this is the reason why I'm doing this. It's been happening more and more lately, in between the usual congratulations are these genuine, heartfelt wishes from people who were moved by my music. The new stuff seems to be striking a nerve with people, and I'm overwhelmed. I can't wait to get this album out, guys. I think we're going to have a lot of fun with it...
I thought it over and decided to accept invitations to return to The C-Note and Sidewalk soon. I was toying with the idea of a hiatus until the CD release, but why deny myself this simple pleasure. Stay tuned for dates....
Thanks to everyone who came out, especially the folks from work, who braved sleeplessness to show their support. Much obliged. See you soon, kids!
Setlist: Post Call (debut)/Reunion (debut)/Pretty Girls (debut)/Charlene/The Only Living Boy in New York (Simon and Garfunkel cover)/First of May (Jonathan Coulton cover)/All of This Will Stay/Frosted Flakes and Milk
posted by Michael Novick at 12:50 PM
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