Following Rabbits Blog

Rooftop Films has announced their summer schedule and premieres this Friday! Woohoo! I went last year to see a series of shorts about Love, and it was a lot of fun. It was a warm May night and they were grilling burgers and dogs on the roof. People brought blankets and picnics, and the films were all great. My absolute favorite was Sweet Dreams by Kristen Lepore:

Tomorrow night's kickoff series starts at 8p at the New Design High School on Grand Street. The shorts on tap for the evening are a series of "grand stories in little packages". Get there a little early to score a good spot and hear music from Twin Sister. The home movies series on May 29 and Fears and Fantasies on June 5 look good. You can see the full schedule here.

Once in a while you go to a show where the energy of the people performing radiates through the audience. Last night was absolutely one of those shows! Hugo had the crowd dancing, screaming, clapping, and singing along. It helps that Mercury Lounge is an intimate venue, with a lower stage and a cozy vibe, as opposed to the cavernous feel of Bowery or Terminal 5. I scooted towards the front after Burn Down the Mission finished their set, and I'd say Hugo definitely has his fair share of groupies! Excitement over popular songs and shouts of approval ran through the crowd. 

It's easy to enjoy a show and appreciate someone's music when you can tell they're passionate about their craft. I have a hard time drawing a comparison to another band- and that's a good thing! His music is just fun- the kind of tunes that make you tap your foot and want to sing along. He was backed up by drums and bass, with horns on a few songs. I'm still pretty new to his music, but what I've heard so far is great! What You Want and Choke are favorites of mine, and I seem to have had Dear Walker stuck in my head almost every day since I made a Hugo playlist on my iPod.

Last week I asked Hugo where I could get a ticket to his show. He said there weren't tickets, just $10 cover at the door- but that he'd draw me a ticket to have. It should be known that everyone makes fun of me because to this day I still have hard tickets mailed to my house, rather than just printing e-tickets. I like having real tickets for my scrapbook! So imagine how happy I was when Hugo pulled this out of his back pocket for me last night:

Ha! Absolutely fantastic! Made my night complete. Definitely check out Hugo's music on iTunes, and I'll keep you posted on any upcoming shows!

photo via Facebook 

I want to introduce you to Hugo: part piano-rocker part wise-guy (some of his interview answers had me laughing!) who I had the pleasure of stumbling into at the Kate Nash show a couple weeks ago. Hugo was outside of Kate's show giving away samplers of his music. I downloaded it the next day, and was immediately impressed. It's upbeat and very catchy- I've managed to get one of his songs stuck in my head every day since I put his tunes on my iPod. He's headlining the late show tonight at Mercury Lounge- definitely worth checking out! I caught up with him on Twitter and he was gracious enough to take the time for a little Q&A:

1. Favorite song to perform? Crow

2. Favorite item of clothing you own? Reebok Knit Polo

3. Sort your iTunes library by play count... what's the most played song? Dayton Ohio 1903 - Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Sings Newman

4. Favorite guilty pleasure? Bojangles? Waffle House? 

5. You get to go anywhere for a week, all expenses paid... where you headed? London. No, Japan. Wait, come back to me.

6. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Second Baseman for the Chicago Cubs.

7. Who or what inspires you most? The ones that don't believe

8. Biggest pet peeve? See above

9. Favorite tourist spot in NYC? Death and Co

10. Favorite breakfast food? ¿Panquecas?

11. Where did you grow up? NW 'Burbs of Chicago

12. What superpower would you most like to possess? The ability to outsass ANYONE...so... watch out.

13. Favorite 80's cartoon? OOF. Tough.. My roots are equal parts Thundercats, He-Man, and Care Bears. What's interesting here is I actually have Lionel, Cringer, and Tenderheart represented...oh my!

14. Have you ever been in love? Yes

15. Favorite NYC restaurant? Blue Ribbon Sushi

16. What do you see when you look out your window? Someone that owns a balcony. Thanks for dragging that back up.

17. Favorite sports team? The Cubs. Who can be more inspirational in all of sports?

18. You're at Starbucks- whatcha drinking? A bottle of metromint from the place across the street.

19. Favorite dessert? Ribbon Torte.

20. Someone has 1 day to experience NYC. What do you recommend they do? Wake up and go to Sarabeth's (have the four flowers juice). Then head to MoMa. For lunch go to H&H Bagels and grab a few then cross the street and go to Zabar's. Get the country ham or the smoked scottish lox and walk to Central Park for a picnic.  You can stop at Alice's Tea Cup (coincidence?) for high tea. Or chai tea. If you must, go see a show in the theater district. On your way south of the city stop at Joe's Pizza in the village for a slice and then head over to the lower east side. On your way from west to east grab a round of lights and darks at mcsorley's. Go see some music at Rockwood or the Living Room or National Underground. If it isn't too late yet make it to Rice to Riches in SoHo. Finish off the night at Flatiron Lounge. I'm going to go pass out now.

Come check out Hugo's show tonight at Murcury Lounge! Doors open at 9p, $10 at the door, 21+. I'll be there early to get a good spot. Come by and say hello, have a beer and listen to some great music! I'll post photos and a show recap late tonight or early tomorrow. See you there!

You can see/hear more at Hugo's website and his Facebook fanpage.

I went home to Cape Cod this weekend for Mother's Day, and got a nice surprise. My grandmother on my dad's side found a photo of my great-grandmother when she was in her 20's- and we look very much alike! 

I had never seen photos of her when she was young, so it's a really great thing to have. I also have several old photos of my grandmother on my mum's side, and it's always so much fun for me to learn stories about their past. I've been piecing together my family tree for a long time now... my lineage on my dad's side is traced back to President John Quincy Adams, and my Nana on my mum's side came over to Ellis Island, NYC from England on the Mauretania- a White Star Line sister ship of the Titanic. Here she is when she was young: 

I LOVE old photos! Everyone just seemed so much more glamorous back then, didn't they? I also have had this photo of my Nana (pictured above) when she was a toddler, with my great-grandparents, who look ever so dapper in 1930's England:

Anyone else have any great old family photos? I'm always interested in new ways to research lineage and my family tree, so lemme know if you have any tips! Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there!

I'm posting this week's favorites a day late because my bus to Cape Cod didn't have wifi as I was hoping. We'll call this a special edition of FF- the "home edition" if you will. Got lots of plans with family and friends for the next two days! It's good to be home and decompress a bit.

sailing Cape Cod last summer

HEAR IT: Songs I've just pilfered from my mum's iTunes
1. Violet Hill by Coldplay 2. Sweet Potato by Sia 3. Numb by Sia 4. Borrowed Time by A Fine Frenzy 5. Between Sheets by Imogen Heap

WATCH IT: Movies I've watched recently that you should too
1. Up In The Air 2. Phoebe in Wonderland 3. The Time Traveler's Wife 4. Paris, Je T'aime 5. The September Issue

 photo via Flickr

DO IT: Things to do this weekend in NYC
Climb around the new Met exhibit: Big Bambu. The exhibit, on the rooftop of the Met, is a wave-like sculpture built from bamboo that visitors are invited to walk over. Wear your sneakers, as the walking surface is uneven. Don't look down: the path is up to 40 ft from the rooftop in some parts- that's 100 ft above Central Park. Go on a sunny day and bring your camera!

Check out Future Development - a graffiti art exhibit downtown. The exhibit features work from the "founding fathers" of the art form who started in the 70's, up through present artists. The exhibit runs until the 13th- I'm going to try to get down there next week. Street art is a big inspiration for my L2R line, so it's something I'm very interested in.