Stories, Songs, and an Excess of Cereal

My cereal intake. Why'd I use two bowls? I have no idea.

For the first morning I've had off in a while, I've done a load of laundry and consumed two bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It's been a good lazy morning to what was an eventful week.

Last Tuesday my roommate Mara and our friend Gailyn went to The Moth, a storytelling open mic event that I think I've talked about a few times before. This is the first time I've went without putting my name in the hat to tell a story, and it was nice to just sit back and enjoy listening to all the tales. The theme was "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" and we heard stories about traveling and favorite cars that met a heinous demise. The winner was a woman who told us about when she was detained at the airport because her young son had some thumbtacks in his backpack. Next month's theme is "Home" and hopefully I'll have a story to contribute to that one.

Friday saw the opening night of True West at the Pittsburgh Public Theater (which I've reviewed on my other blog, if you're interested). Opening night is always a fun time, mostly because there's a fun after-party we get to attend. Gailyn and my friend Erika came and saw the show and then we all attended the after party. My coworker and friend Jodi had two friends come also, and it's always fun when you combine people together to drink, eat, and laugh (all of which we did a lot of). There's always fun grub at these parties; I was particularly happy to scarf down all the deviled eggs and churros I could find. 

Then last night after work Gailyn and I went to Club Cafe in South Side to see an awesome concert: The Spring Standards and You Won't. I was familiar with The Spring Standards after seeing them on The Mountain Stage, but I'd never heard of You Won't. So imagine my very pleasant surprise when I was totally blown away by their set.

You Won't is two men, Josh Arnoudse and Raky Sastri, who make truly awesome music. Arnoudse plays guitar and sings lead with a high and powerful singing voice, while Sastri harmonizes and plays a variety of instruments ranging from drums, harmonica, xylophone, and the saw. Oh yeah, for at least three songs he played the saw, which is not something you see everyday and really should.

A real highlight was near the end of their set when they had the crowd at Club Cafe (a great intimate venue) form a circle in the middle of the room and shine phone flashlights on their faces while they played acoustically in the center. Sastri played an organ-esque thing that you squeeze a little (I don't know what it's called, I'll look it up later) while Arnoudse sang a beautiful ballad that I'm going to call "Fuck TV" because I don't know what it's name was. But it was fantastic.

Playing the Saw!

Acoustic circle!

Oh yeah, he hopped up on the bar a little too. Fun!

Then the Spring Standards came on and continued the fantastic-ness of the night. The trio hailing from New York City are really amazing performers, each boasting a great singing voice and the ability to play multiple instruments at the same time. They each have beautiful hair that they whip around while they sing, and despite the fact that I was tired at that hour their energy was too infectious to resist. Check them out!

We stayed for their first encore, which involved the acoustic circle and the involvement of You Won't. They sang "So Simple So True" off their double EP "yellow/gold" and it involved so many beautiful voices and, of course, the saw. Unfortunately it also featured the voices of the drunken patrons of Club Cafe who apparently didn't come to appreciate good music, because they kept talking and snickering during the beautiful moment. Some jagoff even whistled in a way to imitate the saw playing. I resisted the urge to beat him up, despite strong desires to do so.

Gailyn and I then high-tailed it out of there, missing whatever else the encore was going to consist of. Not because we weren't enjoying ourselves (we were!) but we had to walk 12 blocks to catch the last bus that would take us home. And if you don't know, South Side on a Saturday night is a shit show. Gailyn and I are both very fast walkers when we want to be and we zoomed through crowds of people. One man was lying on the ground in handcuffs while a crowd looked on, a bunch of college boys were getting into fights, some girls couldn't walk. When I drink I get giggly and sleepy, I can't imagined getting angry and/or arrested. Alcohol isn't for everyone, is it? Anyway, we caught our bus and completed our walk home without issue so it was a successful night.

Aaaand that was my week. I'm about the jump in the shower and go work a shift at the theater. Got a long week coming up, I'm working lots of shifts at both jobs. Which is great, because I like food and things, but I also like excess sleeping so it's little disheartening. But that's okay, I will make it and hopefully have some stories to tell later. Have a good week everyone!

Some Love for Lake Street Dive

Well, well, well what to talk about this week? Last week I tackled some current events and went on a tangent about racism. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm craving something a little lighter this weekend. I could talk about the recent Supreme Court ruling but I fear I don't have much more to contribute that hasn't been said by everyone else on the internet (but don't get me wrong, I'm very happy about it).

So I've decided to talk to you about one of my favorite music groups: Lake Street Dive.

Lake Street Dive is a quirky quartet that I first saw a while ago on The Mountain Stage in Morgantown, WV. Usually when I see a Mountain Stage show there is one act whose CD I have to buy after the show, and shortly after Lake Street came on I knew it was going to be them. A few months ago (March, I think) they came to Pittsburgh and I went to see them for a second time at Club Cafe. Let me just say that they never disappoint. [Inside joke to my friend, Jodi, who went with me: "Wow".]

I'm not the best at defining music by genre so I'm going to say that Lake Street is a fun mix of jazz, rock, and pop and leave it at that. Drummer Mike Calabrese keeps the group steady with an amazing energy; he's very fun to watch live. Bridget Kearney plays a mean bass while Mike "McDuck" Olson effortlessly plays guitar and trumpet, depending on the song. Rachael Price is the group vocalist who has a powerful voice that is suited perfectly to the songs.

The band's self-titled album isn't their first, they actually had some beforehand when they were still trying to figure out their sound. But Lake Street Dive is the definitive of who they are now and it was well worth the work they put into it. The songs are all sorts of fun, all of them penned by the band members. My personal favorites on that CD includes the fast-paced "Elijah", the cool "Hello? Goodbye!", and the sort-of ballad "Neighbor Song" (penned by bass player Bridget, which also features her sick bass skills).


Their latest album is an EP called Fun Machine which features six cover songs. I love a good cover and thankfully, Lake Street does some awesome covers. My favorites are George Micahel's "Faith", Hall and Oates' "Rich Girl" and Paul McCartney's "Let Me Roll It".

Their recordings are great, but nothing beats seeing them live. They just have such a fun, positive energy surrounding them. The love and friendship between the group is infectious, quickly making an entire room full of strangers feel like they're among old friends. Their songs are fun and clever without seeming stupid or cheesy. They don't get overly political or preachy with their tunes; it's simply great music.

Another awesome thing I can't quit is their youtube videos. Most of them feature the group in very intimate settings. There's a video of them singing "Elijah" on a front porch, while the above "Faith" video was filmed on a sidewalk. They have no problem performing with the bare minimum: a bass, a drum, and a trumpet is all the more they need to blow your mind. It's a refreshing change (at least for me) from music that features a lot of synthesizers and hullabaloo, like the musical guests you see on Saturday Night Live. I'd rather have ten Lake Street Dives than one Kanye West any day.

So what's next for LSD? And do you think their band name is a subtle drug reference? I guess it's possible, I don't know their lives. They don't seem like the kind of people that would be doing LSD but I guess you never know. I digress. At their Pittsburgh show they mentioned working on a third album and played a few songs from it (which, of course, sound great). In the meantime I keep looking for new videos of them breathing life into songs by ABBA or Fleetwood Mac. Such a terrific group.

I'll leave you the same way Lake Street Dive left Pittsburgh: with a balls-to-the-wall playing of their song "Got Me Fooled" that they like to use as an encore. Thanks for reading, I hope you guys will check out the fabulousness that is Lake Street Dive. And no, I don't work for them or anything. I'm just trying to spread some love.