It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years since Paul Morris and I first saw them play.
That was in Paul’s words the “best gig ever” and it’s definitely in my top 5. Not only was it the OK Computer tour, but it was at Radio City.
I think I’ve been lucky enough to see them do every album since then. In all those years and gigs, only the last one was a bitter disappointment. It was at Roseland, which was one of my fave rooms in NY, so I was so excited for it, but for some reason, there was not nearly enough sound. Plus the band played a super subdued set. So unless you were right at the front, which was totally impossible because the venue had let way too many people in, it was a hot cluster fuck of pissed-off heads. So I’m happy to report these MSG shows were pretty great. Paul was able to get us INCREDIBLE seats for the Tuesday, and I was lucky enough to buy decent ones via the bands awesome management & surprise Max (who had never seen them) on Wednesday.
It’s impossible to pick which day was better. Because our seats on Tuesday were so close to the stage, visibility and sound were definitely better. But I think the band was possibly tighter on Wednesday, plus they played "Weird Fishes” and “Creep" ;)
Below are a couple of snippets of the highlights.
It’s been a pretty amazing week of music for me. On Saturday Paul Instigator Weston braved the ridiculous heat to go see Blood Orange, The National and a little of Kendrick Lamar’s set out on Randall's Island for one of the three days of Panorama Festival. However, the highlight of the day was actually unplanned as we wandered into a tent, only to be confronted by possibly the best dance floor soundsystem I’ve ever witnessed. I was blown away for 20 mins by the sound, and also the track selection: a mix of classic to rare disco tunes, blended with current alt dance like Tame Impala. I was very curious who, like me, had a love of these disparate genres. It was none other than James Murphy. He and 2ManyDJ’s were responsible for the soundsystem itself.
Check this thing out!