Thursday, August 24, 2006

Newsom Pics (& Neko) (& Sox Stuff)

Above: Looking across a park at McCarren Pool, Brooklyn. That brick arch behind the Clark Kent-style goalpost is the entrance to the gigantic old pool, now used for outdoor concerts. Click here for my last trip to the pool. And click each picture to Large Marge-ify.

Tonight I was there for Joanna Newsom. Here she is just after taking the stage, preparing to play. I got to the pool at 5:30 and began the usual long wait for Chan. Chan has never arrived on time to any event of any type for as long as I've known him (fifteen years). It's weird, because it doesn't fit with his personality. He's just, for no apparent reason, consistently late.

While I was waiting, a guy with a huge wall of hair walked in. I stared at the hair for a while; he really had it sticking straight up. It looked like the hairdo they gave Eddie Murphy when he played Buckwheat. But, hey, this is hipster-heaven. Fortunately, I wasn't totally paralzyed by the hair, because when I finally looked away at the guy accompanying hair-boy, I discovered it was Jimmy Fallon. I always liked Fallon on SNL, and my take on his Red Sox movie was that he wanted to show the craziness of Red Sox culture, regardless of any of the crappiness that ended up in the film, and that's fine with me. You can't make a movie about a Yankee fan, because nobody would care. I don't mind people taking good-natured shots at Red Sox fans and Bostonians, like he did with the "No-mahhh/Yer retahded/You ahh" skit. I just loved that the Red Sox were mentioned on SNL all the time because of that skit.

I watched them walk to the backstage (side pool) area, and say hi to Martha Wainwright. I was glad to find out she was playing first, because the rain started to fall, and although it would've been cool to see Joanna in the rain, it wouldn't have been a fun ride home afterward. And I knew it was a passing shower, so this meant I'd see Newsom rain-free. So Wainwright played, and Chan arrived in the middle of it. I wasn't really into Martha.

Chan and I moved up toward the stage in preparation for Newsom. I told him about Fallon being there. Then I noticed Jimmy and the living-hair were standing right next to us. I tried to candidly take his picture. But I was zoomed all the way in when I shot from the hip. So I got a shot of sky and another of someone's back, possibly not even Jimmy's. Terrible job by me.


Above: More Joanna.

Then I saw this dude Toby Goodshank in the crowd who I've seen play wacky tunes back in CT and in NY. I didn't say hi. I doubt he would have remembered me anyway. But right next to him was another dude I recognized. I couldn't quite place him. But when I loudly told Chan I saw this celebrity (below, blurry, in white shirt in front of Port-a-potty, facing left, can you tell who it is? Answer at end of post.)...



the guy's girlfriend started saying "where? where?" And I was trying to point him out to her. Meanwhile I know I've seen this guy and recently. I never figured it out. Maybe he was at the last pool show.

Joanna played, and it was good. Since she's got a new album coming out, she played a lot of new tunes. I only got to hear three old ones. But she did a great job. I can't even imagine playing a harp, let alone singing at the same time. She was as elfin and childlike as she was a few years ago. And the new "stuff"--as music fans call music--was good. I'm guessing I will like the new album. It's funny how you hear laughing and crying when Joanna plays. People who know the tunes will cry like babies--she played "Sadie," one of the saddest songs I've ever heard, which may or may not be about her dog dying, but who knows what other symbolism I'm missing--and people who've never heard her will blurt out a laugh when they hear a quirky line or when her voice takes a word on the Tilt-a-whirl. I laughed at the "beetle shell" line the first hundred times I played the cd.


I was pretty focused on Newsom, but I also noticed Fallon at the side of the stage. I think Ben Stiller may have been up there, too. But I can't verify that one. It was dark by then. The reason it was a celebrity-fest, I'm guessing, was the headliner, Neko Case. She sings in New Pornographers sometimes, which I like. And apparently she's going to be the "next big thing." But I was there for Joanna (who I thought was gonna be the NBT--guess not). We stayed for a couple of Neko's songs, but they were all coutrified and, how you say, not good. To me. Chan was just fine with us leaving early. A bunch of people were still coming in as we left. We walked to the subway listening to Neko talk about 12-year old girls and their fantasies of unicorns while humping their dolls. Terrible job.


Answer to mystery celeb above: Mike Myers. Maybe ex-SNLers get into the pool shows free? Or did they just hear the buzz about Neko?

Hey, I actually did some cropping. It was fun. Usually I don't do it with my Sox pix because it would take forever, and I already spend too much time on those galleries as it is.

About tonight, the Yanks have lost. We are up 2-1, Papelbon is in, needing four outs. Beckett actually did awesome--but left with a blister.

I'm getting the Angels' channel tonight. They had a great shot of Papi dribbling a beach ball in the dugout and goofing around.

Pap just got an out to Pap-country. That's deep left-center. Doesn't he always get at least one fly ball out there?

Now here's another ball that bounces off one Angel to another, for a DP. A similar play happened before. Killer. On the last one though, I flipped to the Yanks and Bernie was retired on a pinball play at that same moment.

Pap gets another out to Pap-country after a Vlad leadoff hit. Two more outs, Jon. Strikeout of Juan Rivera. One more, buddy. K! We win. Two actual victories in succession. Gold.

Comments:
I can't believe you don't like Neko Case. Sorta fun AJM fact: I'm a huge, huge Neko Case fan, both solo and with the New Pornographers. I saw her in a show three years ago (my how time flies) at the Bowery Ballroom)...she was just fantastic.

Oh, and, nice win. How about Wily Mo Pena's Manny-Like outfield assist? Nice gun. I think I need to start a WMP blog. Just kidding, Jere.
 
Let the movie about the Yankee Fan open in Boston:
It'll close after the 1st day;

There will be no DVD.
 
I guess I just don't like her solo. But that's only from hearing a few tunes. But, in general, I just can't get into this country thing. You can't polish a turd, Beavis. And by that I mean you can't just put "alt-" in front of something and make it any better. You just get more skinny kids with shaggy hair to like it that way.
 
And yes it was a nice throw by Pena, great play by Doug, even though the runner didn't let up because of the deke, and still made a good slide.

Maybe someday he'll start hitting cutoff men, too, heh heh.

Wily's throwing motion reminds me of Dwight Evans. I know it doesn't make sense, but something about the way he turns his back before throwing, and then really fires. It only works when he's in RF, though.
 
You probably won't believe me, and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't, but I totally knew that was M. Myers. And you know how? Because he's had the same stupid, floppy-and-center-parted hair for like 20 years now.
 
No, that's great. I believe you. My mom also told me she knew it was Myers right away. I took the shot, looked at it, and thought, "I'd be able to tell it's Myers. But are people gonna believe me?" So, I'm glad 2 people have confirmed they knew without being told who it was. It's totally the hair that gives him away.
 
Make it 3. Like JS, I made the call based on the hair-do. Dead give away. I think that Hugh Grant had a similar hair style for a short time, but Myers is a little meatier and easier to pick out from a distance.
 
Well, it could have been Brendan Frazier too.

Ok, not really.
 
Meaty hair. Heh.

It could've been a butcher from a cow's ass, but it wouldn't, I mean...

Name the Brendan Fraser movie: "You and I gonna tangle."
 
Well, since I'm pretty sure Brendan Fraser wasn't in the original Richard Roundtree version of 'Shaft', I'm gonna go with 'Encino Man'. Or maybe 'Airheads'.

I can't believe I spelled it 'Frazier' above, like he was related to Smokin' Joe or something. Terrible Job, me.
 
Airheads. It's okay. About the Fraser.
 

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