I can’t remember the last time I went out to see a live band. In an effort to fill the well, and maintain a commitment I’ve made to myself recently to get out of the house more and take in the culture of NYC I went to Arlene’s Grocery on the lower East side this past Saturday night. They were one of the venues hosting a five day Shoegaze Festival put on by New Colossus.
Ending up at Arlene’s was a completely random thing. I started out at the TKTS by Lincoln Center hoping to score some last minute half price Broadway tickets, but there wasn’t anything that jumped out at me. I’ve been to Arlene’s a bunch through the years seeing various shows and know that it’s a good place to see Indie bands without selling a kidney to cover the door price.
Both of the bands that I saw were really solid. The first was a three piece from NYC called ‘Autobahn’. The bassist also doubled on cello for a couple of songs.
My favorite of the two that I saw was Prism Shores from Montreal, Canada. It was cool to hear completely new songs and then be able to go back and listen to the studio recordings. It was also fun to see that their bass player was playing the same short scale Ibanez Ibanez TMB30 that I have. It was even the same ivory color.
The biggest thing that I got out of this show was a reminder that there are still musicians out there playing rock and roll live in front of real people.
I’ll definitely be back.
