Jonathan Richman! Top of the Pops!

I'm starting to think I'm narcoleptic.. Maybe not in the literal sense, but in the "I can fall asleep anywhere sense." A couple weeks ago it was during Taxpayer... Last night it was The Ponys. There's just something about a dark humid room and the way my earplugs dull out the sound that lulls me to sleep.

Anyway, the reason I was at The Ponys was cause they were opening for Art Brut. Roger Sisters went on first and I was really looking for them to convince me to buy one of their awesome bunny t-shirts, but they didn't. Bummer.

The Pony's were good from what I heard through my nap. I'd only heard some of their old record when I was working at KUGS, so I wasnt' entirely familiar with them, but I will give them a "not bad" stamp of approval.

Art Brut finally came on after a bunch of Jonathan Richman songs were blasted over the speakers (one time Canada and I spent several hours listening to Jonathan Richman/Modern Lovers... things haven't been the same since.) The funny thing about seeing a band for the first time after listening to them for quite a while is seeing how off your ideas of what they'll look like are.. I had never bothered to look at pictures of the band, so I was pretty delighted when the band looked pretty well put together, with a sloppy, moustached Eddie conducting the show.

Their show was exactly what a good live show should be... charming and unpredicatable. There's nothing worse than seeing a band that sounds exactly like the record when you see them live. A band should improvise, interact and entertain, which is exactly what Art Brut did. From jumping into the crowd, jumping onto the bar, doing an aside during Emily Kane and having the crowd chant "Art Brut! Top of the Pops!" I have no doubt that every person in the audience went home loving the band more than when they got there. So yeah. Go see them, assholes.

The past few days have tired me out.. I've been running on five +/- hours of sleep after too many shows + friends + etc. Jenny and I ran around Boston, dropping money on things we don't need ($40 headband anyone?), drinking beers and eating at some of the best restaurants. It was fun as hell. Everyone! Come to Boston!

Neko Case tomorrow and then NYC/VA into the weekend. I need a giant nap.