Yep … me & some dude from Smashing Pumpkins
I got a call tonight from my buddy Nelson of the band clueLess. Recently he’s been driving around the country with Bar None Records band Oppenheimer from Belfast, Ireland. Tonight he told me that a fellow Bar None band called The Spinto Band were gonna be at Irving Plaza. Nelson’s girlfriend Debbie works at Irving Plaza (17 Irving Pl, NYC) so between the two of them that meant I could get in for free and hang in the VIP area.
It never ceases to amaze me when I find places I’ve never been to in NYC despite being here all of my life. Tonight is actually my first time in Irving Plaza. Oh sure, I’ve bought tickets to other venues from the Irving Plaza lobby. Still I’ve never seen a show here at this former Yiddish theater and burlesque house. As a mid-sized venue, the floor in front of the stage can get pretty crowded. Thankfully there is a pleasantly roomy second floor bar area.
It’s across from this area that one can find the VIP area. Separated by a simple velvet rope and access granted to only those with special stickers on their clothing, you actually feel like you’re in a whole other room. Of course you’re not really, but at least you’re also not crammed into some dude’s shoulder blades with some other strange elbow in your back as you try to sip your spilling beer.
The Spinto Band are critically acclaimed and a good portion of the crowd seemed to like them. But despite having six people on stage, to me they sounded a bit la-de-da and thin and I was not really grabbed by their songs. However I was grabbed by the unusually strong drinks. Normally in places like this the drinks are painfully over-priced and woefully weak. These were just painfully over-priced.
Apparently James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins was standing nearby. It took two people to point that fact out to me. It’s not that I don’t like the band, I just never really paid attention to what any of them looked like. Besides, I’m the guy who has on differnent occasions stood within inches of Richie Havens, Mick Jagger and Paul Newman without recognizing them. So forgive me for not knowing Iha.
The next band called Art Brut was truly a pleasant surprise. While standing outside, Shaun Robinson of Oppenheimer described them to me as a heavier version of The Fall while somehow being even more tongue-in-cheek. I’m a big fan of The Fall and my curiosity was piqued. Once they started playing, it was clear that Shaun was right.
The singer most definitely has a similar grunting delivery as Mark E. Smith but their unique sound has harder elements of classic rock and pop mixed in. My leg started cramping up in sympathy for the drummer who played standing up the whole set. Debbie pointed out that their bassist was singing along to all the songs. We had to wonder though, why she had no mic of her own.
I scraped up what was left of my money to get a CD and we were all out into the rainy night in search of the next bar. It was a bit of a cluster fuck as we tried to decide on a place. I found an ATM in a local deli to get more money as the one at Irving Plaza was broken. Apparently a common problem. Upon exiting I stepped ankle deep into a puddle of water
This wound up symbolizing the rest of the night as being a washout. Nelson, Debbie and I never did make it to the next bar. We lost touch with our Ireland crew. After some more walking and stopping by Debbie’s outta town boss’s apartment to check on the mail, I swished and swashed my way back to Hoboken. By the time I got to town, the bars were closed. So I walked home, ate a sandwich and went to sleep.
See Also:
Bar None Records
The Spinto Band
Art Brut
Irving Plaza
clueLess
Oppenheimer
