Tuesday night.

Always so goddamn busy.  I suppose that's the way it goes.  Now playing: Post Regiment, first LP.  Was listening to an album with their 1988 and 1990 demos earlier and was underwhelmed.  I've got to hear the songs in their proper form, out of infancy and into something memorable.  And so, these Post Regiment albums will get some play tonight.  Unbelievably great stuff.  Up soon: the big game.  Good guys versus bad guys.  Thats how I see it, the rest of the world sees The Worst versus Nearly as Bad.  Go The Worst!  Up a little later: The Best Show on WFMU.  It's the best!¹

But tonight is not about tonight.  Here are some places I've been since recently...

Walter De Maria "The New York Earth Room"
I must admit that part of the reason I felt the need to visit the Earth Room was an obligation to the artist and my desire to experience as much of the Earthwork sites as I can.  After becoming entranced by Robert Smithson we made the trek to Spiral Jetty and became obsessed with Smithson, Dia, and all who shared his aesthetic vision.  As such, Lightning Field and de Maria by extension, piqued our interest.  While a trip to New Mexico is inevitable, we decided to visit Earth Room in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan to examine De Maria's vision.  There's not much to it: a Manhattan loft filled with soil.  All livable terrain in an open room is filled with about a yard of soil.  Visitors know, EXACTLY, what they'll see upon entrance; however, the scene is arresting.  One cannot help but sit, mouth agape, at the scenery.

"Under Influence of ESPO" Maysles Cinema

That's ESPO walking down the aisle.  The MAN, Philadelphia turned NYC graffiti legend who was open-minded when the art world came running and made some films while making bona fide gallery art.  During his turn at Maysles, Mr. Powers screened a handful of films ranging from vintage footage of late 60s-early 70s era Philly wall art to camcorder footage of teenybopper ESPO & co. to a mini-doc of the grown up man doing his hometown good by organizing some strategic & awesome wall art around the city.  Truly brilliant and inspiring stuff.


Citizen's Arrest at some giant rock club, Greenpoint, NY

Unreal.  Mind you, I HATE a) band reunions b) rock clubs and c) apathetic crowds...nonetheless, I couldn't ask for more.  CxA was older, out of shape, and presumably as energetic as ever.  Their  jumps were not quite as high as photos circa 1991 would lead you to believe and the in between song dialogue ("Is everybody having a good time tonight?", ad nauseum) was not that of idealistic youth BUT when the music started we may as well have been on Rivington².  The crowd was clearly there for Tragedy-to the point where I wonder if most have ever heard CxA, but even their potted-plant enthusiasm did not deter.

WTF with Marc Maron: Bell House

Having heard all episodes of this podcast, including a few live events, it is not without experience that I declare this the best of all.  Scharpling, Wyatt Cenac, Kevin Allison, Horatio Sanz, Sam Lypsite...even Ted Leo³.  With Tom baiting Marc and Wyatt comforting him with cupcakes, the lineup was built to feed off of the host.

Storm King Art Center

One of our favorite destinations.  Located up in New Windsor, NY, Storm King is a massive plot of land dotted with some of the best modern sculpture including works by Calder, Serra, and many, many more. It took the better part of the day to explore the grounds and get a feel for the art.  The only downer was the old-timey crowd of snooty donors.

I've been up to more but the Good Guys lost, the Best Show is nearing completion, and my gal is hinting that it's time for bed.  Enough!  Never enough time. I'll leave you with few more photos from Storm King.

¹It will be Wednesday night before I actually finish this post. Bear with me.
²No complaints about the lineup, who were brilliant, but did this lineup ever play live during the first go-round?  Leo on guitar, Kahan on vocals, etc.  Perfect execution.
³As much as I hate RUSH, Ted & Marc's a cappella take on 2112 was almost bearable.