Bagels and Robots
(Saturday-Sunday, March 18-19, 2006)
Although we've been nice and busy doing our weekly "news" wrap-ups, we haven't strayed far from home. Which tends to make us a little stir crazy. Our solution was to book a quick weekend mini-tour: Saturday opening for our old friend and certified folkie nutjob Vance Gilbert in Northampton, MA; and Sunday in NYC with a recent "discovery" -- singer-songwriter-all-around-smart-guy Jonathan Coulton.
First stop, the neo-hippie capital of the eastern US, Northampton, MA. A decent crowd turned out for the show at the Iron Horse Music Hall, and it's always nice to see the look on people's faces when they see us for the first time. No panties were thrown, but we did make a lot of new friends, including a very nice couple who are taking our music home with them to Denmark. Also, the end of the evening featured all three of us singing a rendition of "It's Not Easy Bein' Green" as Kermit the Frog, Aaron Neville, Yoda, Henry Kissinger, Stevie Wonder, and Paul-as-Vance Gilbert; we're still not quite sure how that happened, but there it was.
Finished up early enough to go to....
FOOD REVIEW: Teapot - Northampton, MA
CATEGORY: Asian (post-gig)
Rating: +1*
We keep coming back to this Japanese/Chinese restuarant for a number of good reasons. 1) fresh, thick-cut sushi 2) champion scallion pancakes, General Tso's, and dumplings, and 3) they're usually open late enough for us to chow down after a show at the Iron Horse. Service is usually indifferent at best, but then again we usually show up less than a half hour before closing. If you ask for spicy, you get spicy, and the portions are fair for the price. Despite being quite full, we still slinked around the corner after our late repast to our other Northampton favorite...
FOOD REVIEW: Herrell's Ice Cream - Northampton, MA
CATEGORY: Ice Cream Parlor
Rating: +1
Even though we got there too late for shakes or mix-ins, their ice cream is so dang good that they still get a +1. Truth was, we were so full from dinner that anything more than a small cup or cone would have a-sploded us. Burnt sugar and butter ice cream never fails to deliver the goods.
The next day we had a quick breakfast with our friend (and order fulfillment guru) Patty**, and trucked on down to NYC, arriving early enough to wander around a bit in the East Village. Upon stepping out of the car, we were almost immediately run over by a drove*** of hipsters rushing to the used CD store to sell their copies of the latest Sigur Ros disc before it becomes uncool. Later, we brushed right by Adam Sandler as he was preparing to film a scene for the upcoming movie Empty City. Stifled the urge to walk by him with our shoes on our hands, yelling "Lookit me, I'm Mr. Crazy-Shoe-Hands-Man, gimme some candy!" in that dumb-ass man-child voice he used to do all the time.
All of that star-gawking made us hungry, so we stopped into a little place we'd seen just down the street from the movie trailers:
FOOD REVIEW: Mini Thai Cafe - New York, NY
CATEGORY: Thai
Rating: +1
We weren't hungry enough for a full-on meal, but still did some damage on an order of pad Thai (beef), a nice 'n' spicy red curry, and tart and delicious soups (tom kha gai and another in a clear broth with shrimp). Service was fast and friendly, prices were low, and they didn't pull their punches on the heat. Added bonus: our seat in the front window afforded us a great view of the Village's never-ending parade of interesting-looking people. Saw a dude walk by who may or may not have been George Carlin. Left the restuarant quite contented.
The show went off great at the nearly-sold out, 75-seat Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction, a room with a great vibe -- the stuff of beat generation poetry readings/Lenny Bruce diatribes, with a little bit of subversive coup plotting mixed in. Rather than lots of individual small tables, the room had three long tables running down the walls and center of the room, giving it a "Great Hall from Hogwarts" feel, albeit smaller and with fewer wizards.
Coulton went first, and we sat in on a couple of his tunes. Jonathan has a real gift for writing from the perspective of the underdog. It's not easy to make a mad scientist who kidnaps a woman and attempts to woo her with genetic hybrids a sympathetic figure, but Coulton pulls it off. Throughout the set, the audience could be heard letting out that sympathetic "awwww!' sound, even as he described out-of-control robots taking over the earth. And his Flickr video song/presentation is pure genius.
Like the night before, our set went well, despite a little bit of leftover rust. (Before this weekend, it had been about 2.5 months since our last show, after all) Panties were thrown--though both were, in fact, men's underwear. (Thanks for that, Quigleys) Gonna put together a "Hall of Panties" whenever we get around to revamping the website****. Jonathan joined us for our new tribute song "Nugget Man (Robert C. Baker)".
Hung out a little bit after the show, but had to drive home that night. Still, we had enough time to make one stop before heading out:
FOOD REVIEW: H & H Bagels - New York, NY
CATEGORY: Bagels
Rating: +2
Nothing else is a New York bagel. Period. And at the top of the list is H & H. Fresh off the line around midnight, these big, beautiful babies had that magical, chewy texture that both Jew and goy crave. Bought four dozen between us, including several bialys. Winner of the night was the bagel covered in sea salt, making it kind of like a big, circular, bagel-y soft pretzel.
All in all it was good to be out in front of living, breathing people again. We'll be out there again in a week or two, so if you check our schedule and see that we're going to be near your town, please tell us where the good local food is.
Oh, right...and come out to the show.
Later,
Paul and Storm
* go here for an explanation of our food review scale
** no breakfast review, because Patty made breakfast--home cooking does not get reviewed (but for the record, the omelets were delicious, and the things she does with strawberries!)
*** a group of hipsters can also be called a "flight" or a "murder"
****that is, whenever one of our fans with mad web skills says "I'd love to redo your site in my spare time for free!"
(Saturday-Sunday, March 18-19, 2006)
Although we've been nice and busy doing our weekly "news" wrap-ups, we haven't strayed far from home. Which tends to make us a little stir crazy. Our solution was to book a quick weekend mini-tour: Saturday opening for our old friend and certified folkie nutjob Vance Gilbert in Northampton, MA; and Sunday in NYC with a recent "discovery" -- singer-songwriter-all-around-smart-guy Jonathan Coulton.
First stop, the neo-hippie capital of the eastern US, Northampton, MA. A decent crowd turned out for the show at the Iron Horse Music Hall, and it's always nice to see the look on people's faces when they see us for the first time. No panties were thrown, but we did make a lot of new friends, including a very nice couple who are taking our music home with them to Denmark. Also, the end of the evening featured all three of us singing a rendition of "It's Not Easy Bein' Green" as Kermit the Frog, Aaron Neville, Yoda, Henry Kissinger, Stevie Wonder, and Paul-as-Vance Gilbert; we're still not quite sure how that happened, but there it was.
Finished up early enough to go to....
FOOD REVIEW: Teapot - Northampton, MA
CATEGORY: Asian (post-gig)
Rating: +1*
We keep coming back to this Japanese/Chinese restuarant for a number of good reasons. 1) fresh, thick-cut sushi 2) champion scallion pancakes, General Tso's, and dumplings, and 3) they're usually open late enough for us to chow down after a show at the Iron Horse. Service is usually indifferent at best, but then again we usually show up less than a half hour before closing. If you ask for spicy, you get spicy, and the portions are fair for the price. Despite being quite full, we still slinked around the corner after our late repast to our other Northampton favorite...
FOOD REVIEW: Herrell's Ice Cream - Northampton, MA
CATEGORY: Ice Cream Parlor
Rating: +1
Even though we got there too late for shakes or mix-ins, their ice cream is so dang good that they still get a +1. Truth was, we were so full from dinner that anything more than a small cup or cone would have a-sploded us. Burnt sugar and butter ice cream never fails to deliver the goods.
The next day we had a quick breakfast with our friend (and order fulfillment guru) Patty**, and trucked on down to NYC, arriving early enough to wander around a bit in the East Village. Upon stepping out of the car, we were almost immediately run over by a drove*** of hipsters rushing to the used CD store to sell their copies of the latest Sigur Ros disc before it becomes uncool. Later, we brushed right by Adam Sandler as he was preparing to film a scene for the upcoming movie Empty City. Stifled the urge to walk by him with our shoes on our hands, yelling "Lookit me, I'm Mr. Crazy-Shoe-Hands-Man, gimme some candy!" in that dumb-ass man-child voice he used to do all the time.
All of that star-gawking made us hungry, so we stopped into a little place we'd seen just down the street from the movie trailers:
FOOD REVIEW: Mini Thai Cafe - New York, NY
CATEGORY: Thai
Rating: +1
We weren't hungry enough for a full-on meal, but still did some damage on an order of pad Thai (beef), a nice 'n' spicy red curry, and tart and delicious soups (tom kha gai and another in a clear broth with shrimp). Service was fast and friendly, prices were low, and they didn't pull their punches on the heat. Added bonus: our seat in the front window afforded us a great view of the Village's never-ending parade of interesting-looking people. Saw a dude walk by who may or may not have been George Carlin. Left the restuarant quite contented.
The show went off great at the nearly-sold out, 75-seat Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction, a room with a great vibe -- the stuff of beat generation poetry readings/Lenny Bruce diatribes, with a little bit of subversive coup plotting mixed in. Rather than lots of individual small tables, the room had three long tables running down the walls and center of the room, giving it a "Great Hall from Hogwarts" feel, albeit smaller and with fewer wizards.
Coulton went first, and we sat in on a couple of his tunes. Jonathan has a real gift for writing from the perspective of the underdog. It's not easy to make a mad scientist who kidnaps a woman and attempts to woo her with genetic hybrids a sympathetic figure, but Coulton pulls it off. Throughout the set, the audience could be heard letting out that sympathetic "awwww!' sound, even as he described out-of-control robots taking over the earth. And his Flickr video song/presentation is pure genius.
Like the night before, our set went well, despite a little bit of leftover rust. (Before this weekend, it had been about 2.5 months since our last show, after all) Panties were thrown--though both were, in fact, men's underwear. (Thanks for that, Quigleys) Gonna put together a "Hall of Panties" whenever we get around to revamping the website****. Jonathan joined us for our new tribute song "Nugget Man (Robert C. Baker)".
Hung out a little bit after the show, but had to drive home that night. Still, we had enough time to make one stop before heading out:
FOOD REVIEW: H & H Bagels - New York, NY
CATEGORY: Bagels
Rating: +2
Nothing else is a New York bagel. Period. And at the top of the list is H & H. Fresh off the line around midnight, these big, beautiful babies had that magical, chewy texture that both Jew and goy crave. Bought four dozen between us, including several bialys. Winner of the night was the bagel covered in sea salt, making it kind of like a big, circular, bagel-y soft pretzel.
All in all it was good to be out in front of living, breathing people again. We'll be out there again in a week or two, so if you check our schedule and see that we're going to be near your town, please tell us where the good local food is.
Oh, right...and come out to the show.
Later,
Paul and Storm
* go here for an explanation of our food review scale
** no breakfast review, because Patty made breakfast--home cooking does not get reviewed (but for the record, the omelets were delicious, and the things she does with strawberries!)
*** a group of hipsters can also be called a "flight" or a "murder"
****that is, whenever one of our fans with mad web skills says "I'd love to redo your site in my spare time for free!"
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home