Nevertheless

It's been hectic the past few weeks, what with the book launch and the new job, not to mention the opportunity to do things now that a few checks have started to come in from my freelance clients. In particular I went to the Brian Jonestown Massacre concert last Tuesday night at The Independent. I showed up without a ticket, though, and spent the first forty-five minutes out in the cold, waiting with all the other lurkers for someone to come by with an extra one to sell. Luckily, a guy who was travelling with The Tyde showed up at the last minute and was generous enough to get me in for free. The next thing you know I'm backstage with a vodka tonic rocking out with a bunch of guys that looked like Tommy Bradford from Eight is Enough, and the only unfortunate thing was that I didn't have any friends there to share in the amusement. BJM played for close to three hours though, and as always, it was glorious. Anton behaved himself despite some douchebags in the back heckling him, and when it comes down to it, they make beautiful music, and that's what the focus should be on. It's interesting that in a summer where I got to see Radiohead for the first time in five years that the two best concerts were The Walkmen and BJM, both evenings I went out by myself.

As a sidenote, Joel is back in the band, and he was in prime form. When someone heckled what he was wearing in the front row, he leaned forward into the mike and said, "Nice blow-dry, dude." The great thing is, I saw him in Union Square right in front of my office the next morning, walking to what I assume is his day job. He had headphones on, and when I said "nice show, Joel" he threw me the peace sign and said, "Right on, brother."

Anyway, I'm working a ridiculous amount of hours now, and we have a big gallery opening this Saturday night (it's an amazing exhibit, and if I had a few thousand dollars laying around I'd scoop up several photographs), which means late nights at the office the rest of the week, so updates here will be sporadic at best. Look for a new website soon dedicated to the book, thanks to my buddy Matt, who continues to be a cool-ass motherfucker. Also, I'm picking up some new photos tomorrow evening, so there might be an update early next week if I can find the time to sit down and bang it out.

With that said, thanks to all those who purchased the book (or plan to in the near future). The early reports have been nothing but positive, and I'm touched by your kind words, deeply.

p.s. Check out these photographs if you have a chance. They're awesome.