Kevin Devine and The Goddamn Band is Goddamn amazing.
This was one of the most fun trips I have ever gone on. It started in the morning, when Morgan's friend Ashley and her boyfriend Jeff dropped us off at Union Station. We caught a train at 12:07 and got into Grand Central around 2:45. We got out of the station and walked a few blocks. Then took a left and walked a few blocks. and then Walked about the same amount of blocks in the opposite direction of the first set of walking. So we went really out of our way but we found the hotel. The Roosevelt Hotel. We walked into the lobby and it was like walking into the Titanic. The room was glamorous. The doormen wore top hats. This place was fancy. I got to walk through a revolving door. We checked in and were told we got 1556. So we went up to the 15th floor and we're anticipating our hopefully glamourous room. Well...it was nice. But I paid $230 for our one night here, so I was expecting a lot.
Here is an artist's depiction of our hotel room:
Bed was wonderful. So comfy. It completely justified itself for taking up basically the entire room. The television was HD, but very fuzzy. And don't get me started on the shower. The knob was broken. When I took a shower I got a choice between 1. SCALDING HOT! and 2. FUCKING COLD! No in-between. It's funny. It is. But that bed...
Anyways.
Ate dinner at a New York pizza restaurant. I bought too much pizza. But that's ok. Went back to the hotel to put it back.
From the hotel room we wanted to get to Grand Central, but didn't want to walk that much out of our way again so we asked the doorman. The doorman pointed to a door across the street. Fuck our lives.
So we took the subway over to the Bowery Ballroom. And got into the concert hall.
What a concert.
Show started with New Numbers. An indie rock band made up of members from other bands from the New York area. I had never heard of the bands the band was made up from, but they weren't bad.
Next up was Brian Bonz and The Dot Hongs. This band rocked all over the place. Brian Bonz is Kevin Devine's current keyboardist and aux percussion player, but he's the singer and guitarist of this band. He's got a very surprising voice. He looks like he's 13, but he sounds like a mix between Ben Gibbard and Anthony from Bayside. Good band, I bought their tour EP and look forward to buying their CD when it comes out. And to see them again with Kevin Devine when he comes to Hartford in June.
Now. Kevin Devine and The Goddamn Band. What a wonderful show these guys put on. They are one of the most fun loving bands I've ever seen. Kevin Devine and Brian Bonz together on stage is some comedic genius. I was expecting cameos from Jesse Lacey from Brand New and Andy Hull from Manchester Orchestra and got neither. That's quite alright though. Kevin showed why he was able to sell out the Bowery in 2 weeks for a reason.
He started with Cotton Crush, and ended with Ballgame. But here's what he played off what album
Off Make The Clocks Move:
Ballgame
Longer That I'm Out Here
Off Split The Country, Split The Streets:
Cotton Crush
No Time Flat
Off Put Your Ghost To Rest:
Brooklyn Boy
Your Trailing Yourself
Just Stay
Go Haunt Someone Else
The Burning City Smoking
Off Brother's Blood:
All Of Everything, Erased
Carnival
Another Bag Of Bones
Hand Of God
Brother's Blood
Fever Moon
Murphy's Song
I Could Be With Anyone
Yr Husband
Tomorrow's Just Too Late
Almost 20 songs. Played til around midnight. I bought Brother's Blood, the I Could Be With Anyone EP, and Brian Bonz's 2008 Tour EP
Got back to the hotel. Went to bed around 1. Woke up around 9:30, checked out around 11. Went home, to pack and go to relay for life. That was a lot of fun. Had lots of fun events going around all the time. There were a lot of emotional moments though. I broke down during the luminaria ceremony, especially when they showed the picture of my grandpa holding me the day I was born. I was going to try and stay up for the length of it, but I got very cold at the end of the night for forgetting my sweatshirt and ended up passing out for three hours. Woke up and broke down camp, and then went to sleep until 2 this afternoon.
Tomorrow I am calling out of Toad's Place to attend a funeral, of my grandparents cousin Marie, who has really been like a great aunt to me my entire life. She was married very briefly and had no children. My dad and his siblings are the closest thing to children she had. My Aunt Pinky flew in from Indiana for the funeral. She was there every Christmas I can remember, and sadly passed away earlier in the week. I am going to be a pallbearer again. But that's what is coming up.
I plan on doing another drawing of the hotel room next week for The Bamboozle. That will be a far longer entry than this one. Be prepared.