I've never been this far away from home...


I don't know how you Williamsburgers do it every night...

I got out of the show at around 12:45 (it ran ridiculously late), and start heading back towards Bedford and 7th, but thank GOD I overhear some kid talking about the L not running past midnight. I walk with him and his friends up to the G train...which if you ever have to take, you know you're in bad shape. I looked at a map and realize there is absolutely no way I'm getting home before sunrise. I didn't know whether to go up or down, nor could I figure out which train to transfer to (oddly, none of them seemed to go where I wanted to go...) Finally (Thankfully?) I gave up on the train and waited till a lucky cab rolls by. 10 minutes and $15 later, I'm back safe and sound in the CV.

Where I come from, if your most direct route home involves the G to the JMZ to the F (and I'd STILL be a 10 minute walk from West 4th home), you're in for a rough night. If that cab didn’t happen to go by, I'd have prolly spent the night in the foyer of a vintage furniture store.

So if that alone didn't make a weird enough night, I went to go see The Polyphonic Spree at a club that smells like old Jews. Never been to Warsaw before...Not my favorite, but it's an ok venue. Just kind of a trek from civilization. The band was fun. They put on a spectacle, and it's cool to see 25 people on stage all at once, but the songs are surprisingly bland for having so much going on, and the lyrics are pretty lame. They are worth seeing once, but I wouldn't strain myself to go check them out again I don't think.

Mike Doughty was really awesome, however. He played a full set of like 20 songs, most of which I didn't even recognize. He's still got that great voice and has written some really smart songs since the Soul Coughing days. I'm surprised he doesn't get a new band together. It's all still there for him and from the turnout for his set, he seems to still have a descent and dedicated following. I'd like to see what he could do with more than a guitar and a keyboard player. Soul Coughing was a very interesting band for many reasons beyond his voice and songwriting, and I bet he could get together an interesting group of guys to make new music with.

Anyway, that was last night. Tonight I hope everyone comes out to see Elkland and the rest at the Knitting Factory. For more info on the bands, including some great MP3s and a video, check out Gothamist.com.