living in nyc is wonderful because everyone loves it. eventually, everyone will come to visit you, and realistically, you never have to leave (unless we all get displaced by rising rents).
it seems like a lot of musicians prefer to tour in the fall, so i was checking out who is playing and saw melt-banana were back in town. i saw them in 2024 and it was great. the openers, the flying luttenbachers, were really impressive musicians. the band leader ‘weasel’ had this snide energy that spoke to me. and melt-banana just fuckin rocked it. last time i went, i made the conscious decision NOT to wear ear plugs so i could feel the music raw. well, that was really really dumb. i had experienced some dull ear pain after seeing loud acts before, like boris in 2022, but this was a sharp pain that lasted 3 days and bad tinitus. i know 80 year old mike is going to remember what moment to blame when i have the tv volume maxed out.
anyway, this time around, they were really good. it was the same set as last time, but the crowd seemed to be more fresh faces. i was standing near this one guy who was against the barricade in the front and was getting so annoyed by moshers, and then he got pressed by this old NYHC looking dude which was hilarious. there was also this doll in the front who could not have been more nonchalant about the whole thing, her whole outfit meticulous and she was unmoved as to not disturb her image, but i actually respected it. she definitely seemed engaged with the music.
the most memorable moment was when YAKO called for us to give ‘spirit hands’ to AGATA during a guitar solo. being in the front, he was nearly in front of me, vignetted in a tunnel of hands. it was an image i hope not to forget, it was truly otherworldly.
a few months ago in japan, me, stace, & greg went out for conveyor belt sushi. it came up that haruomi hosono was playing radio city, and greg immediately fixated on going & spent most of the dinner struggling to buy tickets on his eSIM.
that day came, crazy enough, the day after melt-banana. me and stace went to raku for dinner and i had this chirashi bowl that was insanely tasty. the fish was crazy flavorful, idk how. we walked on over and met greg by a side entrance where, for some reason, they offered us an upgrade from balcony to 6th row orchestra ?? i’ve never had something like that happen. i was so skeptical that we’d be seated behind some tall guy or a camera or something.
we went through security and i emptied my large pockets (not figuratively, literally, they’re just big pants) and i put my 3ds in the security tray and the dude asked me what i was playing lol i said i ported f-zero and he was like ??? and then went on to excitedly explain he’s shiny hunting lugia in soul silver and showed me his slowpoke tattoo.
theres these moments in life that i feel self actualized, and that guy seeing me, and me seeing him was one. idk how to explain it, but it was just a genuine moment of connection between two dorks.
we got to our seats and they were playing ‘runnin away’ by sly & the family stone which i think may be the greatest song of all time objectively. idk no disrespect to MB or hosono but that shit is something else.
toro y moi opened. im not all too familiar besides some of the stuff on ordinary pleasures which def resonated with me then. he was solid and the crowd was digging him.
hosono came on and the band explained he had a pace maker put in, and that he didnt think he’d make the show. well he did, and he gave his vocals his all. his voice had a weathered gruff that honestly suited his old rocker vibe. i was really impressed that stace recognized ‘peking duck’ from tropical dandy, which we listened to a few times this past weekend. my favorites were the ‘PLEOSCENE’ and ‘the madmen’. the latter was an analog interpretation and his hoarse delivery made it sound even more rockin tbh. maybe all his smoke breaks were to achieve that lol.
after the show, we parted ways and me and stace stopped in times sq for a slice of pizza so stace could use the bathroom. the train ride home was packed, but surprisingly easy, and it was nice to share that moment with stace. we sat on the floor when we got home and ate pizza before bed.