So I suckered a few people into seeing Serena Maneesh last night. Ilya saw ’em with me a few months ago in Brooklyn, but Z and Ken hadn’t. We got to Hoboken, parked easily near 6th Street, and walked the rest of the way to the bar. Z had two female friends there sitting in the front room, so we got our bracelets and marched through the bar area to greet the girls. I plopped down on a couch and turned to my left and see Serena Maneesh’s violinist writing up setlists. I said hello and asked how the flight was. He doesn’t speak English well but we chatted for five minutes about jetlag and summer festivals. When he was done he smiled and thanked me and shook my hand about five times before awkwardly exiting the room.
Ken and I got the first round of pints, then Ken got a free round of pints because the bartender charged him the wrong amount. By now the first band was on, and according to Ilya there were “about eight people” in the crowd. So we sat and drank for a while. Outside, the smoking crew bumped into Eugene Mirman (or “Huge-ene” as Z put it) and members of Yo La Tengo. When I stepped outside I bumped into Emil from Serena Maneesh, who for some reason instantly recognized me and energetically greeted me. After he clarified the pronunciation of my name he talked about how no one was going to be at this show so they’d freak out and play a bunch of songs they’re not playing at Siren Festival. He remembered talking to Ian in Boston and asked how my book was going, so we talked about that for maybe five minutes. He noticed someone walking towards him and exclaimed “(whatever the guy’s name was)” and introduced me to him–apparently he’s an engineer who mixed a few tracks on the band’s album. Emil’s sister came over to tell him they were going on, so he disappeared and I chatted with the mixing guy for a few minutes about his studio in Park Slope.
Got into the show and there were maybe 20 people there. “Huge-ene” stuck around for about two songs and then left. Z got really into it. Ilya liked it just fine, and Ken didn’t have enough money to get in so he drank more outside and waited for us. The show was really good and tight. Lots of noise and energy. This touring line-up–according to Emil–is the best. There was a new drummer who was ridiculously talented and beat his Slingerland kit fiercely. They’ve also got a new backup singer/keyboardist who I believe is an American girl from North Carolina. It probably wasn’t the best I’ve seen of them, but this new lineup is awesome. They ended with a huge noisy delay/feedback freakout and knocked everything over.
SETLIST:
Candlelighted
Selina’s Melodie Fountain
Un Deux
Sapphire Eyes High
Simplicity
Chorale Lick
Your Blood In Mine
Don’t Come Down Here
Drain Cosmetics
Beehiver II
After the show we had to wait an excruciatingly long time to find out of one of Z’s lady friends was going to go home with a dude she met or not. Turns out she didn’t. Before we left a few of the band members said goodbye to us stragglers. E-mail addresses, “see you in the fall”‘s and hugs were exchanged. I drove a car full of drunkards back to Jersey City, where Ilya left with the two girls (you stud!) and then Z and Ken sang classic rock songs to me all the way home, substituting my name for random words to create interesting rhyming couplets. We stopped at 711 and met some kids there. I think Ken knew them. One of them is in a band that’s recording at Water Music so we traded stories about my time working there, people who are in and out of the studio, and the bands on Rob’s label. The cops came at 3:00am and screamed at everyone to leave. That’s life in Suburban New Jersey for ya. For a moment it was just like the video for 1979. Shitty.
