On Friday night I did something that I have been waiting to do since freshmen year of high school. I saw Brand New in concert. Ashli and I headed to Madison Square Garden on Friday night for Brand New and Dashboard Confessional. While I guess I am a Dashboard fan, we were primarily there to see Brand New.
When the band went on at 7:30 we were pretty much the happiest people in the world. The set started with old favorites from their first two albums, followed by four new songs and one final oldie. In short the band had so much energy and looked as if they were having the times of their lives on that stage. Something I haven't seen in live shows in quite some time. The set however was pretty short and our seats were too far away to feel anything from the band. I guess in all we were a little disappointed that we did not get to hear our favorites, but the show was still excellent and I have no regrets in going. Dashboard came on a little while after and I must say I have never felt so old at a show. The people around us were 15 and talked about high school in between the sets. They were really excited that they did not get carded when they bought cigarettes and had a fake I.D. so they could buy beer... and then drink it through a straw. Basically I will no longer give Nick Serpe crap about the time in 7th grade when he saw Dashboard. This crowd was mainly 18,000 teenage girls all dressed head to toe in Abercrombie and Hollister. I just couldn't take it seriously. Things really have changed, especially since Chris Carrabba spent most of the night just singing and running around the stage occasionally stopping to actually play guitar. It was just a weird experience. We found out that the show was actually being taped for a P.B.S. concert so I guess I felt that Chris was putting on a front for the camera. Oh well the night was still fun.
However I will give a shout out to Scott who saw the show the following night in Lowell, MA. Scott actually got to meet Brand New afterwards and he says they are pretty nice guys, which is always nice to hear. Oh and they are doing a headlining tour in March.
If anyone is interested Rolling Stone did a review of the NYC show and you can read it here.
I'm leaving New York for winter break in a week so I'm not sure what is going to happen between now and then since I have finals in all. So if this is my last update until I return to school at the end of January; Happy Holidays to everyone and have an awesome New Year.

Keep it scene in the city!

Yes this blog is still active. I have just been really busy with school and being at home for Thanksgiving that I have not had a chance to do much worth writing about. Anyway...

On Sunday night I ventured down to the Bowery Ballroom for Straylight Run. I went alone since the people I had planned on going with had some sudden things come up and were unable to attend. The venue was a pretty nice place, lots of open room and a balcony upstairs. The opening acts were pretty good even though I did not know any of them. Streets To Nowhere were first and they were a young pop-punk band from San Francisco. They were ok. Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band went next. This was the first time on the tour that Kevin played with a whole band so it was pretty cool to see them. He was actually really good. Matt Pond PA went third and I really liked them. I know most people have heard them before but I have never really gotten into them, not for any particular reason, so I was really excited to see that they were really good. Straylight Run closed the show and I thought they were amazing. Their set was longer then when I saw them with Scott at the Knitting Factory so I got to hear even more songs this time. The new stuff sounded better a second time around so I actually have some hope for the next record. I got super close again and I even met the "confetti girls" who once again pleasured the crowed with the addition of confetti during "Existensialism on Prom Night." The band did really great acoustic versions of "Dignity and Money" as well as "Your Name Here (Sunrise Highway)." After the show ended I stuck around for a while downstaris and got to see all the guys from Matt Pond hanging out in the lounge afterwards. Then as I was leaving I walked back upstairs to find Straylight in a group talking to some people. I knew I couldn't pass this up so I went over and talked to Michelle Nolan and Shaun Cooper for a few minutes. Holy Shit this made my night. I told them what a big fan I am of their music and that I've been listening to them for years, John and Shaun for even longer especially. Shaun started laughing at this point. So yeah it was a great show and the band was super nice, so I thank them for sticking around and talking to me after. It really meant a lot.

Matt Pond PA upclose and personal.

They're what made Taking Back Sunday so great.

I tried to take a picture of the band with confetti, but it did not really come out.

Since youtube is being a bitch and won't let me embed this.

That's all for now. Brand New concert on Friday, more to come from that.

Keep it scene in the city!

First things first, i know that I usually keep this blog to inform everyone of the happenings in my life in NYC, but every now and then pop culture makes its way in here. Today is one of those days.

BRITNEY SPEARS AND KEVIN FEDERLINE ARE DUNZO!!!

I for one think this is a good thing for her. K-Fed is trash and has been living off of her for too long. Brit Brit has been looking good recently when she has been spotted out and about and I think her comeback is soon and it's going to be a good one.

Ok, so back to my life. Halloween was last week and it was a good time. A bunch of us went to the Village for the parade and it was pretty cool. So many people all in costumes and all having fun. It was like all of New York was at one big costume party. I would definately recommend it to everyone for next year.

Friday afternoon the Decemberists played a free show at the Apple store in SoHo. A few of us went and it was pretty cool. We waited in line for about an hour outside the store, which was kinda lame, but once we were let in it was cool. We had seats in the last row (which was the 5th) and enjoyed an half hour set. The band was good and I suggest you check out some of their stuff.


On Friday night Scott came to town for the weekend. We headed to UCB, which is always a good time, and hung out with a bunch of people. Saturday we went to the Knitting Factory for one of the final shows of the CMJ music marathon. Dan Andriano (of Alkaline Trio), Chris Conley (of Saves the Day), and Straylight Run were all on hand for an amazing show. Dan played mostly solo stuff, which I enjoyed. Then Chris took us back to middle school with an amazing acoustic show of STD classics. He sat onstage, just him and his guitar, and took requests all night. It reminded me of the old days at the Parish. Everyone standing around and singing a long to Saves the Day as loud as they could. Straylight Run took the stage and rocked the house. Scott and I got as close as we could and sang along to every word. The new stuff was ok, but the old tunes sounded so good live. During "Existensialism on Prom Night" confetti was launched into the air and during "For the Best" John Nolan got right into the crowd, about 2 feet from us, and sang to the crowd. It was pretty fucking awesome considering his lyrics have been playing through my life for the past 6 years. Here are some pics for you:

So all in all a good weekend. Quality time with people from Westford, and we finally got our hands on some Cocaine. Man does it work, and it tastes way better than Red Bull.

Keep it scene in the city.

Things have been real busy lately so I haven't had much too say. Here's a brief recap of what I've been up to, aside from school and midterms.

On Tuesday of last week I spoke with playwright Joe Pintauro on the phone. We were supposed to go to dinner, but he had to cancel at the last minute due to an emergency back at his home. However, he did say that next time he is in the city he will let me know and we will get together. He also mailed me a signed copy of Metropolitan Operas, a collection of his short plays. For anyone involved in Raft of the Medusa you know how exciting this is and I will keep you all updated.

This weekend New York City got in the Halloween spirit. A bunch of us went to the village on Saturday afternoon in search of costumes for a party we were attending in Queens. After waiting in line for about ten minutes we got in the store. A bunch of people cut me off from the group, but once the people passed I stood there starring at Ice-T. He and his wife Coco were apparently in the same set of mind as everyone else. We all bought our various costumes and accessories and made our way to Queens for an awesome time and a great way to kick off the Halloween season. Tomorrow we all plan to head down to the village for the 33rd annual parade. It is supposed to be pretty crazy, so I'm excited.

Last night I went to a book discussion at the 92nd Street Y. It was a discussion by a group of people who had contributed essays about collaboration in the theater. The group discussed the book and their experiences for about an hour before they opened up for questions from the audience. Oh and the people in the discussion included: Kathleen Chalfant, the original Hannah Pitt in Angels in America, Terrence McNally, Harold Prince, winner of more Tony awards (21) than any other person in history and the director of Phantom of the Opera, and Edward Albee, three time Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? among many others. This discussion was perhaps one of the most interesting conversations I have ever witnessed and one of the coolest experiences. Afterward, I spoke with Kathleen Chalfant about our experiences with Angels and it was interesting to hear that she had felt such similar feelings about the play. Finally I got my copy of Virginia Woolf signed by Mr. Albee, but I was unable to speak to him (hey I'll take what I can get).

This week is the CMJ Music Marathon here in New York. Tons and tons of shows by some of the biggest names in indie rock. Friday I plan on attending the free Decemberists show at The Apple Store in SoHo (For all those who might be interested in this, the show is at 1:00 pm and I suggest you get there early as seating is very limited). Then Scott is coming down for the Straylight Run/Saves the Day/Alkaline Trio show on Saturday. I'm pumped.

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Keep it scene in the city.

Well I can't believe that October is pretty much half over. This month is going by so fast. Not too much to report on recently. Went back to Westford for Coulumbus Day weekend and it was totally worth it. Living in the city made me really appreciate fall and everything that comes with it. Oh and the whole seeing my friends thing... that was excellent too.

I'm not sure whether everyone has heard by now, but Wednesday was a little scary here in NYC. A small plane, piloted by Yankee's pitcher Cory Lidle, crashed into a building on 72nd and York. At the time I was in class on 71st, which is about three blocks away. People were going pretty crazy in the streets when I got out of class. Tons of police, medical people, sirens, and helicopters. When I was walking back to the dorm I could even see the smoke from the building. Pretty crazy but everything is cool. Thanks to all those who called to see if I was ok.

Kim was in town this weekend so we did so much stuff. We walked all over the East Village, Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park, Union Square, SoHo, 5th Ave, Central Park, and made it up to Columbia to visit Nick. It was fun because this was the first time I've really had the chance to show someone around the city. Thursday was Mary's birthday so we decided to go to a Broadway show, our first since arriving in the city. We settled on The Wedding Singer because we could get student rush tickets for $25. It was a fun show, nothing spectacular, but worth $25 not full price. Stephen Lynch was excellent, however once he leaves I can't see the show sticking around much longer.

Oh and on the way to the show we happened to run into ROSARIO DAWSON. That woman is simply gorgeous and looked even better in person. She was just on her cell phone in front of some building that we walked by and the four of us were in shock.

Last night we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge into Brooklyn and got some delicious cheesecake from the world famous Junior's. The view from the bridge was amazing. Today Tex, Kim and I went to the MET. I really like going there and will definately do it more often since I'm a member.

Lastly... for all of you energy drink fans, I have great news for you. The newest drink to hit the market is only available in Manhattan. Oh and it's called Cocaine. I have yet to get my hands on this but I'll let you know when I do. I'm also taking orders starting with Scott. Who needs a fix???

Keep it scene in the city.

Happy October everyone. Fall is officially here and you could feel it this weekend in the city. It was a gorgeous weekend and to celebrate there was a little Westford reunion here in the Big Apple. On Saturday afternoon my friend Kenny came down to join Nick and I in our journey to Town Hall for Sufjan Stevens. It was a great guys night out and the first one I've had since I've been here. Although our seats were not fabulous, we still had an amazing time. Sufjan was excellent. Probs the best audio quality of any show I've ever seen. Soof and his ensemble were decked out in butterfly attire for the performance and it was quite entertaining to see all of these wings bouncing around on stage. There were some tech issues during "Predatory Wasp", but Soof made up for it with an excellent sense of humor. "That is the sound of the wasp" he told us after a lound humming noise became to over powering for the song to continue. It was clever. I must say that "Chicago" was surprisingly not my favorite of the night. While I think it is perhaps my fav song of his, "Jacksonville" was unbelieveable. And i almost forgot... Soof played one of his xmas songs off his box set that is coming out at the end of the year and just for fun he threw inflatable Santas into the crown (Nick caught one) and during "Man of Steel" he threw Supermen (I caught one of those). All in all a good night. For pics and a video clip of a new song visit stereogum.

Now this week was realll busy for me and the weekend as well, my dad was in town too, so I did not have a lot of free time to fill with various events to write about so intead I'm giving you some other news:

• Screech makes a sex tape.
• The iphone is coming...
• Microsoft announces the release of the Zune.

Have a good week everyone!!!

Keep it scene in the city.

This week seemed to go by pretty fast. Two shows this week, both were pretty awesome. Tuesday night Ashli and I headed to the Knitting Factory for Cobra Starship and Gym Class Heroes. Now I will admit that I only know one song between the two bands (Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)) but Ashli had an extra ticket and offered it to me so I took it. Overall I had a good time and got to dance so no complaints. Cobra Starship rocked and the song was excellent. Gym Class Heroes were better than I thought they would be and they ended their set with a good cover of Under The Bridge by the Chili Peppers.

Thursday night Griffin and I made our way to CBGBs for The Dead Kennedys. Before the show even started I knew it was going to be a good night. One of the most influencial punk bands playing the most historic and important punk/underground rock venue. While I waited for Griffin outside the club I met a really cool couple who must have been in their mid-50s. They told me all these stories about when they used to be regulars at CBGBs and all the old bands they had seen back in the day. Then when Griffin arrived I got a phone call from Jen saying she couldn't make it so we sold her ticket to a guy named Noam. It was his last week in the US before he has to go back to Israel to join the army and he had some pretty cool stories. At a little after 8:00 we made our way inside and the first bands got started. The Welsh Boys were good. False Prophets was the name of the second band I think. They might have been the craziest band I have ever seen. Now I'm not sure of the "P.C." way to say this, but their drummer had a bad arm that he couldn't really move and he couldn't really walk without hopping, but he banged the drums like no ones business. One of the guitar players sounded like Ozzy Osbourne when he talked and the lead singer had hair similar to my length (beatles-esque) with the exception of one dred which went to his ass. They were quite the package. After that was The Generators, a punk band out of LA that I highly suggest if you're into that kind of music. They put on a really good show. Then it was time for DK. This by far had to be one of the best punk shows I've ever seen. The guys still rocked like it was 1981 and played with as much fury as I have ever seen. The crowd ate it up. One of the most insane pits I've ever witnessed. I spent the entire set infront of the stage, you can see the imprints of the lip of the stage if you want proof because they are still engrained in my thighs. I was pretty sure the building was going to explode the second the band went into "Nazi Punks Fuckk Off." Since the place is closing in about a week or two the band did lots of farewell stuff including their version of "Sweet Home Alabama" which was turned into "Sweet Home CBGB." After the show I got to meet the members of the band and turns out they're really awesome and down to earth. Who says punks are mean? The drummer even gave me one of sticks that he used during the show.

Overall a great night (and week) and probs my only chance to ever see a show at CBGB. Definately worth the years of waiting I've done. Such a shame that place is getting shut down. However, there are still a few more shows so if you can you should really try and see one there, just for the experience. The CBGB's website has a listing of the remaing stuff.

Hope everyone else is doing well and have a great weekend!!!

Keep it scene in the city.

This was one long and crazy weekend full of good and bad times, but mostly good. Friday was cold and rainy here in Manhattan and after a bad afternoon Mary, Margot, Sarah, and I went to an excellent performance of the Upright Citizen's Brigade. These guys were fantastic and have never disappointed me. For those who don't know, The UCB is a group of improv performers that do about four shows every night for about $8. Its really worth checking out and a guaranteed good time.

After having my room to myself for the first time since I've been at school I continued some me-time on Saturday with a shopping binge through Manhattan. Hit up H&M and Rugby and made some successful purchases. Then Mary and I were off to Columbia for Nick's birthday. All in all it was a good time and I met some really cool people and got to see a good friend on his birthday. I'll definately be making more trips up there in the future.

Sunday started at an early 9:00. We left Columbia made a quick pit stop at the dorm and then Kailee and I were off to Brooklyn for The Rapture video shoot. Apparently we got there wicked early, but still had a great time. The theme was one last summer roof top party in Brooklyn. With the amazing skyline behind us, we lived it up! There was free BBQ and drinks all day, and boy did I take advantage of that, a DJ, pool, and trampoline. Such a good time. The band was there and partied with everyone and they were really cool guys. Ashli came and met up with at some point and the three of just danced and partied the day away. I'll keep you all posted on the status of the video and it will be posted as soon as it's available.

Should be an exciting week ahead. Cobra Starship on Tuesday and The Dead Kennedys at CBGB on Thursday. Pics are posted below of the video shoot.

Keep it scene in the city.


Kailee and I.


The view from the roof.


Overall shot of the roof.


Tech crew working on a shot.


Keg Shot!!!

I knew today was going to be a good day, but I didn't know it would be this good. I had no classes today so it was pretty lazy, I stayed in the room and wrote my paper so I could go out tonight and see The Rapture. Now I must admit that until tonight I had never listened to this band, but they were playing a free show at the Apple store in SoHo so I figured why not? Best decision evsss!!!
Since the show was a first come first served event we figured we should get there early. We got in line at about 6:30 and were let inside the store at around 8:00. In total there were about 100-140 people at the show. We got in the last row of excellent comfy chairs and then some people filed in a few deep behind us. Before the show started I was looking around and noticed two guys up against the wall. I couldn't figure out who they were so Griffin went over and asked how we knew them. Turns out they were the chief editors for Rolling Stone magazine. Holy Shit!!! Then the band came on and played a breif thirty minute set and I got really into it. They were a great dance band and put tons of energy into the show. Since most of the audince were in seats everyone was kind of chilling out for most of the show, but at the end we stood up and just started rocking out to the great music. After the set a woman came up to us and told was she was with management. We thought we were about to get in trouble for something, but no. She was with the band's management and loved our dancing. She loved it so much in fact that she told us to come to the band's video shoot all day Saturday on some roof top in the city. Yes that's correct, I'll be dancing in The Rapture's new music video. WTF??? On our way out of the show I quickly went over to Joel Stein and Rob Sheffield, the guys from Rolling Stone, and told them how much of a fan I am of their magazine. They were impressed I recognized them and said thanks for stopping by. They seemed really down to earth. Well for the minute I talked to them anyway.
So this was one crazy night. One of the best Tuesdays in quite some time. Oh and it's fashion week here and my friend Sef got us on the list for the Diesel after party tomorrow night (no worries my camera will be in hand). Sometimes I can't keep up with this place.

Keep it scene in the city.

Today, by far, has been the best day in NYC weather wise. About 80 degrees and just gorgeous. So the walk from 55th to 71st was actaully pleasant. Mary, Ashli and I made the walk together and to add to the greatness we happened to pass this.
Yes, that would be the winner of the first season of Project Runway. I must admit that I didn't know who he was, but the second he passed us Mary and Ashli called everyone they know. I hope something like this happens everytime I walk to school.
On another note, I think one of the best feelings in the world (or atleast my new world of NYC) has to be seeing someone you know on the street. Walking to class is great because you're in the hustle that is Manhattan, but sometimes you do feel lost in the shuffle. There are seriously millions of people around you and all of them have their own destinations, and it's great to be one of those people. But at the same time it can be a very lonely feeling, and then all of a sudden someone you know will pass by and say "Hi" and you no longer feel so alone. It's simply great.

Keep it scene in the city.

Well I've now spent an entire week in the city and I must say I do love it. I miss home, but I know I can survive here. Especially since Mary and I saw Lance Bass from NSYNC yesterday walking down Lexington. So yeah, all is well.

Keep it scene in the city.

Well I have officially arrived in the big apple. More to come later one more is set up.

Keep it scene in the city.