The following was written in January 2008 for another blog, but I never figured out how to post it and eventually gave up. Now that I know how to post articles, it will see the light of day.
If you are like me, an indie rock geek with a daily Pitchfork addiction, you were excited or at least curious about Vampire Weekend’s 2008 self-titled debut. First off, this spiel is not to hate on Vampire Weekend; it is more to document the mania I felt over this record’s release. I am an admirer of the band and it is a glorious occasion every time “Mansaard Roof” (a likely candidate for the next Wes Anderson movie) is played on Sirius’s Left of Center.
So I order the vinyl version from Insound.com (where else?) in early January 2008. You know, if Insound and Pitchfork copulated their birth would mark the coming of some great indie Messiah. The excitement I experienced the day before their record would arrive at my house was immense and pummeled the feeling I get biweekly when my paycheck is direct deposited into my bank account. This highly anticipated day comes on January 29 and as I speed a little bit to get home and maybe run a red light or two and spring from my car door and jet up the driveway to my house and throw open the door…I find no record. How can this be? Insound said the record would be shipped on or before the date of release! Where the fuck is my Vampire Weekend record?! I quickly logged on to Insound.com to see what the delay was, but no explanation was to be found. Upon calling them the next day I find out the vinyl LP release is not until 2/19/08! What do I do? Do I… No, I will not go to Target and purchase the CD version for the low price of $9.99! Must…resist! But what will I do for the next month?
Fast forward to February 19, 2008. Today is the day before I am to receive the new VW record. The anticipation is there, but the mania is gone. It just doesn’t feel as good when I tear open the shrink-wrap of the vinyl long player. I feel cheated. But at least Insound hooked me up with a sweet M.I.A poster.
The creation and stoking of hype for new bands continue to fascinate me. I contemplate this phenomenon as I skank and dance in my underpants to “A-Punk”, and hereby coin the term “hyping” for the feeling you get for a new musical group. For example- I was totally hyping over this new Vampire Weekend record. The term is like “freaking”, but more specific. Whatever you want to use in order to explain this phenomenon is fine by me, as long as it doesn’t distract me from hyping over the new Gnarls Barkley record.
February 21st, 2009 was the first Grand Alto show of 2009. Looks like we needed to take the entire month of January off. It was probably because the December 26th show rocked so hard. The group eased things back into swing with an acoustic show at the Java Joint in Toms River. Now here is the bummer- the Java Joint is in flux at this time due to a shift in owners. Looks like longtime owner Mike is out of the business and a new guy has stepped in. I spoke to someone about the fate of our beloved coffee shop and heard it might go the way of the Italian Restaurant. Meaning the owner is going to turn it into an Italian restaurant. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good chicken parmigiana, but in Toms River you can’t spit without hitting a pizzeria or Italian restaurant. What we need here at the double J is an owner that will go farther left into the coffee universe and make the Java Joint a full on café venue ala Portland or Brooklyn; a real center for the arts and music scene, which downtown Toms River desperately needs. If only a bunch of us could quit our day jobs and run the Java Joint. It would really hit the mark.
This show went well and was much fun. The back area was full of band gear and merchandise. People were floating around everywhere. Matt and I went through the songs in the backroom. Bill got there about 2 minutes before we were to play. We played all the standards and hits. Matt was kinda pissed that people were talking so much during the performance, which they were, kinda. Matt and Bill had a spontaneous drum machine jam at Mike’s expense. Mike used his Theremin to jam with a trumpet and cello, which sounded eerie, like zombies were to attack the windows at any moment. Everything She Needs, Domenick Carino, Wood Goould, River City Extension, and Nick Cucci all sounded/performed great and many folks came out to cheer on their hometown heroes. I think we sold some shirts, also. It is sad to see a venue such as this slip away from what could be its full potential. In other words, this place means a lot to us. It always has. We hope for the best. We will help if there is any way we can do so.
