Following Rabbits Blog

A friend recently turned me on to Wakey!Wakey!, so when I saw they were playing at Maxwell's in Hoboken, I was amped. When we got there we had to wait outside since the early show ran later than expected... the doorman really had no idea what was going on. That aside, the rest of the evening kicked ass! 

Jenny Owen Youngs opened the show. I was only vaguely familiar with her, because she and Wakey!Wakey! had covered one of each other's tracks to promote the tour. Jenny covered W!W!'s Dance So Good, and W!W! covered Jenny's Led to the Sea. Jenny's set was fantastic (made even better by the fact that she's hilarious...). Standouts of her performance: Last Person, Clean Break, and Fuck Was I. She's definitely on my list of musicians to watch- I'll be psyched for new music and future shows of hers. 

Wakey!Wakey! brought down the house- major singing along and shouting for them to play fave tunes. Everyone kept shouting "Brooklyn!" which was the song I was waiting for, when finally W!W! frontman Mike Grubbs assured the crowd "you know we're gonna do Brooklyn!" Before going to the show I only had 6 or 7 of their songs, and loved them all. They played my favorites- Twenty Two, 1876- The Brooklyn Theatre Fire, Car Crash and Almost Everything. They even covered Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Was a great night! Both Jenny and W!W! make really  beautiful music- if you haven't heard them, I encourage you to check them out!

There are some really great photos of the show by Colin Rieser here.

SEE IT: art and photography I fell for this week
When French photographer Sacha Goldberger found his 91 year old Grandma Frederika depressed, he suggested they do a superhero photoshoot. The shots are friggin' hysterical! (And Grandma was cheered up).

WATCH IT: videos I peeped this week that you should too
The Today Show anchors have been on a mission to "go viral" and enlisted OK Go to help them make a video. OK Go is famous for their viral music videos, and concocted a scheme involving 250,000 ping pong balls and locking the 4 anchors in boxes for 3 hours. You can also see the behind the scenes video here. 

A friend and I were talking about Florence + The Machine yesterday, and he mentioned Rabbit Heart. I was familiar with the song (and its Alice in Wonderland references) but hadn't seen the tea-party-esque video. If you're not familiar with her music, definitely check it out. I'm going to see her perform with Civil Twilight on December 14 at Irving Plaza- it's going to be a killer show!

HEAR IT: songs I downloaded this week
1. Bbtone by Pinback 2. Gold Guns Girls by Metric 3. Lovers in Japan (Osaka Sun Mix) by Coldplay 4. Stronger by Seabird 5. The Artist by The Hush Sound 6. Stay by Safety Suit 7. The Night is Young by Howling Bells 8. Face Down by Katie Todd 9. Indigo by Far Beyond Frail 10. Hurricane Drunk by Florence + the Machine

DO IT: things to add to your calendar
The Union Square holiday market opens today! Markets are popping up everywhere with local artisans, jewelers and crafters bringing it for your gifting pleasure. I love unique and thoughtful gifts- and handmade presents are always more special.

It's the final week of the NYFA Boot Camp Art Festival. Check out their schedule of events here.

Wakey!Wakey! and Jenny Owens play a set at Maxwell's in Hoboken tomorrow night. I'll be there!

Tonight I went to see Intermezzo at the New York City Opera. The David H. Koch theater is gorgeous, and this time I was in the fourth ring, on the side (helloooo vertigo!). I was sitting on the orchestra level for the two operas I'd seen prior to this one, so it was pretty neat to actually be able to look down and see the orchestra playing. This opera was in English, which I was afraid would make it less "pretty", but I enjoyed it very much. (Plus it was nice to not have to read all of the supertitles... most of the dialog was discernible just my listening.) 

Intermezzo, by Richard Strauss, is an autobiographical story about a domestic comedy of errors he experienced with his wife. The wife in the opera, Christine, discovers a letter that is mistakenly sent to her husband. The letter appears to be from a mistress, and she immediately flies into a rage and threatens to divorce him, all the while carrying on an affair of her own. 

The show was really visually stunning- the costumes were amazing (Christine's dressing gowns and capes were my favorite!) and the set was brilliantly constructed. The opera is divided up into many small scenes, and some present challenges for realization on a stage- tobogganing? Ice skating? They pulled it off- snowball fights and all. (There was also a very large Louis Vuitton clothing trunk that I desperately want... even if the LV logo was painted on by the set designers, ha!) All in all it was a very honest, often comedic performance. Bravo NYC Opera!

Tonight I went to the launch party for Stan Shaffer's posthumous publication of You Should Have Been With Me- a book of his photographs from his heyday New York City and the beautiful people who lived and partied here in the 60s, 70s and 80s. He photographed celebs like Andy Warhol, Uma Therman, Jerry Hall, Angelica Huston, Janice Dickinson and Brooke Shields. The book includes notes and stories from Shaffer's friends, family, and photo subjects. The collection is a beautiful tribute to the times and also to Shaffer himself, who tragically passed away during the final stages of publication. The launch party was a celebration of his life's work and a reunion of industry peers, family and friends. 

here I am! check out the rest in the gallery of photos on Guest of a Guest

I've had this dress for 3 years with the tags on it, ha! Glad it still fit! Stan's daughter (my good friend and co-worker) Allie took these photos.

I got four orchestra tickets from a friend to see In the Heights. I had already seen it, but I really enjoyed it the first time, so I got together a few friends to go with me. There were quite a few differences in the cast, which made for a different experience this time around. The show tells the story of three summer days in Washington Heights, following colorful and sometimes comical characters as they sing, dance and rap their way through the streets. The ensemble performances are flawless, and the lead characters are endearing and emotional as they experience love and loss in the shadow of the GWB. I haven't seen many Broadway shows, but I think it's safe to say it's unlike anything you've seen on Broadway before. The energy is off the charts, and the story offers a contemporary slice of life in NYC.

The show is ending its Broadway run on January 9, so definitely go see it if you have the opportunity!