Month: August 2002

  • I Saw BB King @ The Mann

    Last night I caught BB King at the Mann Music Center. Like most people I’m not a huge BB King fan, but I respect his talent and career immensely. He’s 76 years old and can’t play forever, so I decided to check him out and it was well worth it. The weather was horrible, but…

  • Open Mic Recap @ The Living Room

    This is actually a recap of last Monday’s open mic at the Living Room in Collingswood. I was late in getting there, so I missed Broken Bones, the featured artists this week. Many of the regular performers were sick or at least pretended to be, but you couldn’t tell from the performances. Jason, Adrien, Willie…

  • It Rained at the Unlimited Sunshine Concert

    The Unlimited Sunshine concert rocked last night at the Mann. Modest Mouse, Cake, De La Soul and the Flaming Lips put on a great show and although I liked everyone I think the Flaming Lips impressed me the most. They came out wearing rabbit and frog suits and showed movie clips during their songs. Using…

  • How I Would Run an Open Mic

    I’ve played at dozens of open mics and I’ve seen the good, the bad, the dead, the crowded, the annoying, etc. There are a few things the host should always do when hosting an open mic. The sign up sheet should be available well before the show starts. Ideally the open mic has an Internet…

  • Open Mic Recap @ The Living Room

    The Living Room has a great mix of regular performers these days, although I’d like to see someone new once and a while. The inbreeding is getting a little rampant and I think someone needs to come in and throw something new into the show. I think my favorite point of the night was when…

  • Open Mic Recap @ the GSP

    The GSP open mic hasn’t been this good in a long time. Adrien drove up with me to Grape Street for the first time and she sounded amazing as usual. Jeremy Hollis’s song about making out with “two chicks at one time” had a great vibe to go along with the material. Leroy Montana must…

  • Beck, Strange Caves, and Where I’ll Be Tonight

    I missed a Beck show the other night because I didn’t hear about it in time. I have been kicking myself ever since I missed him at the Troc in 1996 (I was visiting Syracuse University at the time). Fear not because I will be going to the Unlimited Sunshine concert on Thursday with Cake,…

  • Open Mic Recap @ The Living Room

    I was the featured artist yesterday at the Living Room’s open mic and overall the show went pretty well. My sound was a little screwy at times, but that happens. I played a new song called “DRM Sucks” about how Digital Rights Management could possibly invade our privacy and limit our freedoms, but unfortunately the…

  • Thanks for Coming Out

    Thanks to everyone who came out last night. I hope everyone had as good a time as I did. Once again they booked four bands downstairs cutting me off a little early, so for the first time in a while I didn’t play “The Genius of it All” and a few other originals. Next time…

  • Open Mic Recap @ The Living Room

    Adrian is so far above everyone at the Living Room (or almost anywhere else) that it’s almost embarrassing. I had to follow her tonight and even I would have rather seen her play another song. A ton of other great performers came out tonight, too(Keith, Roz, Maria, Willie, Lee and great keyboard player named Alan).…

  • Open Mic Recap @ The Point

    Now I don’t feel so bad about leaving GSP early and missing Lea’s set. She played a song the other night at the Point’s open mic that reminded me why I came out to her open mic in DC so often. A few people I talked to liked her stuff a lot as well. The…

  • Open Mic Recap @ the GSP

    I can’t believe I ran into Lea last night at Grape Street’s open mic. She was one of my favorite artists when I lived down in DC and ran an open mic for a while at Soho Coffee and Tea. I really wish I could have seen her play, but I had to leave a…

  • Back From Illinois (again)

    Congratulations to Ryan and Jen Haley and I hope they have a great life together. It’s not every day one of your favorite cousins gets married especially one only a few months older than you. Ryan and Jen are perfect for each other and I’m so happy for both of them. We all had a…

  • Open Mic Recap

    Could John and Adrian be the best artists frequenting the Living Room these days? If you haven’t seen them yet they’re going to be featured on Monday, August 5th at the Living Room from 8:00 – 8:30PM. They’re also playing at Ebeneezer’s in Moorestown on August 10th, so check them out if you hate me,…