Jun 14, 2006

Eeewy Eels

So for our inaugural participation in this year's River to River Festival of Free Good Music, Guy and I went down to World Financial Center (you know the place, it's outside the mall with the crazy indoor sixteen-feet-tall palm trees) to see Eels. Now, they're not exactly my favorite band or anything, but I think about half their songs are fantastic. And they are always tight and interesting-sounding.

So imagine our shock when they started to play. Granted, the sound system sucked, but that wasn't the whole problem--they were sloppy and all over the place. E kept having to take a break to prepare himself to sing falsetto. And worst of all, they had an interpretive dancer onstage. I'm sorry, but it's true. He kept doing flips and punching the air.

If they hadn't started off with Saturday Morning, I wouldn't have known it was them. I would have thought it was some talent-free opener.

Suffice it to say, we left, and went to The Blue Light Place. We discovered this bar (apparently called Harpers Landing) when walking up the Hudson River after eating at Roys a couple years ago. We call it The Blue Light Place because it's about a half a mile from some pretty blue lights along the shore. Yes, we realize that is not a very good description. There are also a couple of blue lampshades inside.

But they give you your martinis in a little glass pitcher in a tiny ice bucket, and they show the Yankee game, and during commercials you can turn around and watch the sun set behind Jersey City.



See? Pretty.

Song:
Saturday Morning, Eels
(Off of Shootenanny!, not live)

Quote:
Oz: Well, I sorta test well. Y'know, which is cool. Except that it leads to jobs.
Willow: Well, don't you have any ambition?
Oz: Oh, yeah. Yeah. E-flat diminished ninth.
Willow: Huh?
Oz: Well, the E-flat, it's... it's doable. But it's that diminished ninth, you know... it's a man's chord. You could lose a finger.
(Buffy)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cordy,
The Blue Light Place's real name is Steamers Landing.
love,
Guy

Anonymous said...

That's crazy about the Eels! I saw them play on some late night show a few years ago, and they were pretty decent (if a little sloppy in a Pavement/indie rock kinda way). Anyway, the fact they had an interpretive dancer onstage is hilarious!

Anonymous said...

It (that damn interpretive dancer dude) was like a cross between the dancer guy from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and the guy wearing the "Soy Bomb" t-shirt who leaped up on stage during Dylan's Grammys performance.

One might call his appearance beguiling, but I just thought it was stooopid.