{"id":3708,"date":"2010-05-07T18:22:36","date_gmt":"2010-05-07T22:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/?p=3708"},"modified":"2010-06-01T11:07:53","modified_gmt":"2010-06-01T15:07:53","slug":"paper-raincoat-and-ian-axel-at-mercury-lounge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/2010\/05\/07\/paper-raincoat-and-ian-axel-at-mercury-lounge\/","title":{"rendered":"Paper Raincoat and Ian Axel at Mercury Lounge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lois and I go out of our way to avoid concerts where we have to stand throughout the show. That cuts out a number of top venues in NYC where that\u2019s the norm.<\/p>\n

For most rules, there are some exceptions. Last night, knowing we would be standing, we still couldn\u2019t imagine skipping The Paper Raincoat<\/a> and Ian Axel<\/a>. We would have gone to see either separately, but together, it was a lineup that was a crime to miss.<\/p>\n

In fact, here\u2019s my friend\u2019s Facebook update about last night\u2019s show:<\/p>\n

HOLY CRAP!! Okay, seriously if you live in NYC and you did not come out to the Mercury Lounge to hear Ian Axel and The Paper Raincoat tonight you should be ashamed of yourself. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G show!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The only thing that would have added icing to the most delicious (birthday) cake would have been adding Vienna Teng<\/a> to the lineup. While that magic didn\u2019t happen, she was in the audience, so we were at least graced with her presence. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"LoisViennaTeng\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Both The Paper Raincoat and Ian Axel had all-star musicians supporting them. I\u2019ll give each of them a shout-out toward the end.<\/p>\n

Aside from the always spectacular performances that these artists deliver, last night had an extra-special surprise in store for us. Lois has a birthday this week, and The Paper Raincoat worked up a rendition of Happy Birthday which the jam-packed crowd sang along to.<\/p>\n

They were singing the wonderful It All Depends, and toward the end, stopped singing, but continued the beat. Alex Wong<\/a> announced that their friend Lois was in the crowd, and that it was her birthday, and would everyone please sing Happy Birthday to her. That was cool enough, but he got everyone in the audience to clap a rapid beat (to match the song), and ambeR Rubarth<\/a> handed Lois a tambourine to play along.<\/p>\n

\"LoisTambourine\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This was super meaningful to both of us, because it\u2019s only a tad over a year ago, April 17th, 2009, that we first discovered The Paper Raincoat, and that night, Lois also played the tambourine during It All Depends at Canal Room<\/a>!<\/p>\n

They end the song with three people drumming fantastically on the same drum set at the same time (Alex, ambeR and Greg Ritchie). It\u2019s incredible. But this time, because Alex got the crowd clapping in high-speed rhythm, everyone<\/strong> was essentially drumming together at the same time. What a crescendo!<\/p>\n

\"GregRitchieAlexWong\"<\/a> \"ambeRRubarthGregRitchieAlexWong\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Speaking of clapping, there was another magical moment early in their set. They opened with Brooklyn Blurs, and then played Sympathetic Vibrations. Before announcing Sympathetic Vibrations or playing a single note, Alex merely said:<\/p>\n

For those of you who already know your part, join me now<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nearly everyone in the crowd (probably close to 200 people) didn\u2019t need any other clue. We all started clapping a pretty intricate beat to Sympathetic Vibrations. Too cool to describe, seriously. Having 200 people stop on cue as well is something to behold.<\/p>\n

For the tiniest taste of the show (you can\u2019t capture the feeling in a YouTube video), here they are performing the above-mention song, clapping and all, Sympathetic Vibrations<\/a> at Mercury Lounge, last night.<\/p>\n

\"ambeRRubarth\"<\/a> \"AlexWong1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mercury Lounge<\/a> has a capacity of 250 people. It had to be close to full. The crowd was insane for Ian Axel and just as loud (between songs) and interactive for The Paper Raincoat. Standing wasn\u2019t bad, because it\u2019s impossible not to move with the music, so you\u2019re really not stationary (not that we\u2019ll start searching out shows to stand for).<\/p>\n

Early in Ian\u2019s set, he played a particularly energetic song, sung with his usual passion. He was probably close to collapsing in a pool of sweat at the end of the number. Someone in the crowd yelled out \u201cPlay in again!\u201d. Lois immediately added \u201cThis time, with feeling!\u201d, which evoked a huge laugh both from the audience, and from Ian himself. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"IanAxel2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Joining Ian on stage for two numbers was Chad Vaccarino<\/a>. For the first number, they were also joined by Mike Campbell (I can\u2019t find a good link for him). They played Shorty Don\u2019t Wait. It was awesome. Here\u2019s a YouTube video<\/a> of them performing it from last night\u2019s show.<\/p>\n

\"ChadVaccarino\"<\/a> \"MikeCampbell\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"IanAxelChadVaccarinoMikeCampbell\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Immediately following that, Ian did his signature song (which is the title cut of his new CD), This Is The New Year. Chad is featured on that as well. Seriously, check out the \u201cofficial\u201d video<\/a> of that song as well. If an Ian set was comprised of simply playing that song 10 times in a row, I bet no one would leave disappointed! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"IanAxel1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

During The Paper Raincoat set, they announced that Paste Magazine<\/a> (one of the premiere music industry publications) will be featuring them for the next month or so. I think the magazine will be giving away a free song each week, and a bonus free song from artists that The Paper Raincoat will pick to match their own free song. Awesome for those of you who haven\u2019t yet bought their amazing CD!<\/p>\n

The Paper Raincoat et. al. taking a bow at the end of their show:<\/p>\n

\"DavidFalloMelissaTongGregRitchieAmberRubarthAlexWongTonyMaceli\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On to the shout-outs for all the amazing musicians who were on stage. Starting with the people supporting The Paper Raincoat:<\/p>\n

David Fallo<\/a> on viola was superb!<\/p>\n

\"DavidFallo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Melissa Tong<\/a> on violin was her typical excellent self!<\/p>\n

\"MelissaTong\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Greg Ritchie<\/a> on drums. As I pointed out in a recent blog<\/a> covering The Paper Raincoat in Norfolk, VA, the drums are an integral part of The Paper Raincoat sound. They did an amazing job in Norfolk without a drummer, but the sound was distinctly different.<\/p>\n

\"GregRitchie\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Filling the shoes of Kevin Rice<\/a> and Adam Christgau<\/a>, the two drummers who between them play at nearly every show is no small task. Greg did an excellent job. I judge that by how many times I can\u2019t help but look away from the singing (and other instruments) and I\u2019m forced to zone in on some top-notch drumming. That happened often enough last night. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Tony Maceli<\/a> on electric bass. Tony is always wonderful. Typically, Tony plays the upright bass and occasionally switches to the electric. Last night\u2019s show was purely electric (both the instrument, and Tony\u2019s play!).<\/p>\n

\"TonyMaceli\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On to Ian\u2019s band:<\/p>\n

Chris Kuffner<\/a> on electric guitar. As masterful as he always is, but I\u2019m still dying to see him wail on the bass (where I\u2019m told by people I trust that Chris will blow my mind!). We also finally got to meet Chris last night after seeing him play quite a number of times. He\u2019s incredibly nice (no surprise for this group of musicians!).<\/p>\n

\"ChrisKuffner\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Adam Christgau on drums. Man, it\u2019s been a little too long since we\u2019ve had the pleasure. We got hooked on seeing Adam often over the past year, and he\u2019s captivated me each time. Adam was a trooper because directly from last night\u2019s set with Ian, he ran to Joe\u2019s Pub<\/a> to play the 9:30 show with Julian Velard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"AdamChristgau\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Chris Anderson<\/a> on electric bass. Chris is perfectly matched with Ian, both musically and passionately. We love his play and his style every time we see him.<\/p>\n

\"ChrisAnderson\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We were at the head of the line to get in when the doors opened (no surprise). That had the added benefit of us being at the door when the musicians were coming and going after sound check. Here are some pictures right outside the club, before the show started, with a few shots at the bar after the show thrown in for good measure. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"AlexWongHadar\"<\/a> \"AdamChristgauChrisKuffner\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ChadVaccarinoIanAxel\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"IanAxelViennaTeng\"<\/a> \"ambeRRubarthLois\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lois and I go out of our way to avoid concerts where we have to stand throughout the show. That cuts out a number of top venues in NYC where that\u2019s the norm. For most rules, there are some exceptions. Last night, knowing we would be standing, we still couldn\u2019t imagine skipping The Paper Raincoat […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,2],"tags":[490,483,482,561,602,604,668,669,601,670,653,665,666,1367,667,395,484],"class_list":["post-3708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","category-2","tag-adam-christgau","tag-alex-wong","tag-amber-rubarth","tag-chad-vaccarino","tag-chris-anderson","tag-chris-kuffner","tag-david-fallo","tag-greg-ritchie","tag-ian-axel","tag-julian-velard","tag-melissa-tong","tag-mercury-lounge","tag-mike-campbell","tag-music","tag-paste-magazine","tag-the-paper-raincoat","tag-vienna-teng"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3708"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3739,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3708\/revisions\/3739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}