Him: Is it real? Me: Excuse me? Is what real? My hat? Yes, it’s real. Him: No, you’re beard. Is it real? Me: Uhm… my beard? Of course it’s real, man! Does it look fake? Bizarre “conversation” I had the other night. Apparently the lines were “too good” so it “must be fake.” Go figure.
I was bored last night so I decided to go back to the Bird’s Eye and catch the second set at 10:30pm. For some reason, as soon as I took a seat and the set started, I got really sleepy. I couldn’t stop yawning for about 3/4 of the hour long set even though I really enjoyed the music. The band this time was the Jürgen Seefelder - Ingrid Jensen Quintet and they were really quite sharp. Loud, energetic, and at times playful, it was a fantastic show. They really put the great acoustics of the Bird’s Eye to good use. ...
On Tuesday I went to see the Thermals and the Lords of Altamont in Zurich. Zurich is Switzerland’s largest city and cultural capital – and nothing screams culture like Iron Maiden and the Thermals playing shows on the same night! Luckily for me (and a whole lot of Maiden fans) it’s just an hour away by train. I actually saw them about a month ago at Fontana’s for the Brooklyn Vegan CMJ show but they only played a half-hour set and the place was so packed I could barely get in the room. They kicked ass, though, so there was no way I could pass up a chance to see em again.
Last night I checked out the Bird’s Eye jazz club which seems to be one of the few regular live music venues in town. Regular in this case means they have shows two nights a week, with two sets each on Fridays and Saturdays. I found this out all too late, of course, as I showed up late, about 15 minutes before the second set ended just after 11:30pm. The set was alright but a little too experimental for my tastes. During the encore the pianist got up to pluck the piano wire directly. A little much, if you ask me. Kinda like seahorses. ...