It’s been a while. Two years. In 2011 the WFMU Record Fair ended early for me as a result of an unseasonable winter storm that devastated my chances of working on Sunday. You remember that insane ice storm, right? With the downed trees all over New Jersey, lost power…I stayed up drinking Left Hand Milk Stout by candlelight, and on Sunday morning my sister and I traveled to a local bar to charge our phones and spend the day drinking because power still had not returned to our home. Last year the Record Fair was canceled on account of Hurricane Sandy. Hell, I didn’t even make it back to the East Coast. It was that bad. To say that the 2013 fair was highly anticipated would be a very large understatement.
Day 1 (Friday):
Load-in commenced for the first group of dealers just after noon on Friday. Our setup took maybe thirty minutes. Deals always occur during the three or four hours until “early admission” for the public begins. I found most of my records before the door officially opened, but once they did I was free to walk the room with friends leading them to tables I’d scouted in advance of their arrival where they might find good deals. The show lasted until 10pm on day 1. My finds were as follows:
Swans – Public Castration Is A Good Idea (Not On Label) UK Original 2LP
Swans – Filth (Neutral) Original LP
Swans – Cop (K.422) Original LP
Residents – Third Reich And Roll (Ralph) – This one baffled me. It has the “First Pressing Of 1000” cover with a grey carrot on front (which would appear to be a second issue), but the back cover has the large red single swastika logo at the center, which on the second press is supposed to be repeated small images. The disc label is the same as the first issue (only gives the name of the sides). There’s no insert. Anyone? Help? What fucking pressing is this?
Nurse With Wound – A Sucked Orange (United Diaries) UK Original LP
Loop – Fade Out (Chapter 22) Original UK LP with gatefold cover.
Moebius & Plank – Rastakraut Pasta (Sky) German Original LP
Marissa Nadler – The Saga Of Mayflower May (Eclipse) Original LP, Still-Sealed.
Day 2 (Saturday)
Awoke early Saturday and made it into the city in decent time. I didn’t shop nearly as much the second day, as I was most comfortable working the table instead of dealing with the insane crowds that began to pack the Metropolitan Pavilion shortly after the doors opened to the public. Most of my shopping took place at one specific table, where I dropped $100 on Broadcast records for my friend and a little less on albums for myself.
Friends Of Dean Martinez – On The Shore (Narnack) 2LP Compilation
Jeff Buckley – Grace (Columbia) Dutch Original LP
Flying Saucer Attack – Flying Saucer Attack (FSA) Final “Farewell Issue” On Blue Wax with Numbered Sleeve
Ride – Nowhere (Creation) UK Origina LP. I guess I don’t need my generic white label promo LP anymore, right? Anyone want to buy it?
Oxbow – Fuck Fest (CFY) Original LP
After the show Saturday Ian and I went for dumplings at Rickshaw near the venue, then we hoofed it up to the Ginger Man for my annual “Welcome Home” Party, which was very well attended this year. The regular NY/NJ crowd was there (Ian, Jon, Evan, Swan Fungus Super-Fan Michael, Dave G., Josh, Adam, Rachel, Erez…uh…) Matt surprised me by taking the train down from Boston. My old overnight camp bunkmate Scott showed up, who I haven’t seen since we were sixteen!
As usual, I felt pulled in 100 different directions when it came to giving each and every partygoer their share of face time. I hope everyone was satisfied with the amount of time they spent with me. Things were going really well on the sobriety/drunkenness front until later in the evening when people started handing me whiskey shots. The bill was quite impressive. After two hours of drinking we’d racked up nearly $900. I was also the last person to leave the party, which I thought ended on the early side (1am) but I eventually found out I was there until 3am. Good for me. I ran up my own second bill that I think was a little over sixty dollars, but I according to my cash-on-hand the following morning I chose to add in a tip of over $100 because that’s the kind of thing that happens to me when I drink a lot. I passed out in a hotel near Times Square and slept like a baby.
Day 3 (Sunday)
Not the best day. I got to the show in a semi-hungover daze in good time, but as I was gathering my all belongings from the cab (it was way too fucking cold for me to walk 28 blocks from the hotel with tote bags and an overnight bag) the cabbie drove off before I could grab my wallet off the back seat. So that sucked! Luckily I sold enough Todd records on Sunday to retrieve my car from the parking garage behind the venue (that would’ve been awkward!). I spent most of my day on the phone canceling credit cards and trying to reach someone at 311 who could help, since all the taxi/limo support people don’t work on Sundays. I made nary a purchase Sunday, but I got to watch Blowfly perform, which was quite the unique experience.
Drove home, ate some Italian food, passed the fuck out and slept pretty well. Awoke early this morning to get a replacement driver’s license. Dinner tonight is at Per Se. Expect a full review (no photos, I don’t want to be an asshole) tomorrow.
White Hills – In Your Room [MP3]
