lagging tales: too many to count

so i've gone slack. but i'm back.

in this entry, you will be updated on tim fite, no age, the rogers picnic, and she & him. it's been an eventful past few weeks. and i'm just keeping up with my theme of life being slow and beyond the radar, of course. so, here we go!

Tim Fite -- July 15 @ Lee's Palace
Arriving to Lee's Palace thinking we were late (as always) realizing we were so not because nobody was even there took me by surprise. Tim has been gaining a lot of press lately, as have the Watson Twins. Eventually people crawled in, and they were lucky. Tim put on an even better show than when he played with Adam Green, and to a crowd of probably twenty, five of them being my group. But he didn't hold back, if anything there was even more personality because both him and his brother Greg aka Dr. Leisure could single out people in the crowd (yes, it happened to us, and you can see it here.) I cannot gush enough about his performance, so great. Afterwards, my group and I crowded his merch table asking too many questions and buying the lot. Tim and I chatted for a while, which was great. He's pretty different from when he's on stage, especially if he's as tired as he was that day. We ended up taking him and Greg to Futures for cheesecake. Greg was, to say the least, rambunctious to a woman in a big hat and also our waitress, but it was pretty funny at the time. Tim told stories of Brooklyn and New Jersey. But they had to depart to their hotel so sadly the night was over. However, I have talked to him since then, and we'll hopefully meet in New York next month when I'm there. If you don't know much about him then you'll be surprised. He had a hit on MTV in 2001 as part of his hip-hop duo Little T and One Track Mike titled "Shaniqua Don't Live Here No More." They also had a song on the Scooby Doo movie! Since then, as Tim Fite, he released blues, hip-hop, and now his folk record. He really is a chameleon. Anyways, watch "Shaniqua..." because it is the greatest thing you will see all week, and you probably have seen it already but haven't realized...

Tim is one of my favourite people ever, how can he not be?

No Age/High Places/Abe Vigoda -- July 16 @ The Horseshoe Tavern
I covered this show for ChartAttack, which you can read here. (Note: also my photographic debut for them!) So, for a short recap, it was a pretty good show. A good mix of punk and off-kilter pop. Some of it was either a hit or miss, but overall it was a fun time (minus the ridiculous people that were standing next to me. I swear, every show I go to, I end up next to the crazies.) My favourite of the night was Abe Vigoda, who were the punk equivilant to a band I dearly love, Foals.

The Rogers Picnic -- July 19 @ Old Fort York
Rain, rain, rain it did. The raining was actually fun, but being unable to sit and being wet and muddy was not so much. Let's see... so The Carps started out. I keep thinking maybe one day they'll take me by surprise, but...no. They're really not all that groovy. Born Ruffians, however, who were next up, ruled. Crazy personality, hooks, and sound. We had a little unashamed fun giggling at the drummer's unflattering man-boobs as he drummed enthusiastically and also laughed at his own back-up vocals. Dizzie Rascal was fun for a while, but so terribly out of place. "Everybody say oy!" he yelled. I responded "my people!" Vampire Weekend was delightful but didn't put on much of a memorable show. I still enjoyed it at the time; it sounds a lot like their record (not always such a compliment for a live show, but take it for now.) By that time, my friend and I had realized we were able to go into the press pit for photos, so that was my highlight of the day (until my camera died and I pretended to still take pictures.) Animal Collective was a joy to finally see, but as only Avey Tare and Panda Bear were there to perform, they were more focused on their duties that were shared than on the crowd, making me ponder their effectiveness as a festival band, but fuck it. They were solid and eventually got the crowd moving, and just so good anyway. Chromeo was the most fun and danceable time, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to them. "Fancy Footwork," maybe. Tokyo Police Club bored me after a while and I've found after seeing them a couple times now that their short songs usually just blend into one long one of ups and downs. Fun for a while, but not an attention grabber. Then came Cat Power, the diva. She kept going off the stage to talk to someone and then also spent the entire time fretting over the volume of her microphone. While her band looked old, bored, and exhausted, she walked around looking that just not old. She's very pretty, but boy that attitude can overlook. People were walking around saying "cat power be fucking done already!" Sigh. She'd be so much better in a smaller club, I'm sure. Then we stayed for three songs from City and Colour and all I remember was that he had a band, which was a plus, but just not enough for me.

Here's a video of Vampire Weekend:

And a video of Animal Collective:

She & Him -- July 23 @ The Opera House
So this is pretty much the cutest band EVER. I really wish I was either Zooey Deschanel or just gay for her. She's beautiful! So shy and timid, she seemed so shocked that the crowd loved her. It's odd because she's an actress and obviously fine in front of the camera, but she warmed up as she got through a few songs. But one of the greatest parts was the way M. Ward was looking at her, with such admiration, it was adorable. Together they have created such a nice sound and it's definitely been what I've been looking for lately. I've always loved both of their voices. Ward put together a fantastic band for them as well, with a angelic looking back-up singer who looked like she hailed from the 70's, an old-but-frazzled guitarist/pianist man with hair everywhere, a lazy looking drummer, and a pregnant but amazing bassist. But the show was purely Ward and Deschanel, especially when they took a few songs to just them and his guitar. Other songs I really enjoyed seeing were "Sweet Darlin'," "You Really Got A Hold On Me," and "Sentimental Heart." Aw hell, it was all amazing. I can't wait to see them again.


Up soon: tales of a short travel to Buffalo to see Sam Roberts, tales of a week's worth of Long Island (and maybe New York City to see Tim), hopefully still being able to meet Darren, and Radiohead will soon be after that. But I assure you, there will be much more going on in between. Ta! oh and sorry for such a long entry.