New York, New York

This coming Sunday, I’m off to New York for a week of panels and concerts for the annual CMJ Music Marathon. I’ve never been (to either the city or the conference), so I’m really looking forward to it. Thanks to various promo companies, I’ve got hook-ups for some cool invite-only parties, so I’ll get to see bands like World / Inferno Friendship Society, Will Sheff of Okkervil Rover, and Vampire Weekend that are only playing these parties.

Granted, I have to put up with a bunch of random crap like making sure everyone else who’s going gets the free booze hook-ups they so desperately desire. But I have not one, but two chances to see the Wildhearts, so I’ll put up with all sorts of crap. I’ve missed out on both times they’ve come through the midwest, and I will not be denied my chance to see them… they’re kind of like my holy grail of live performances.

I’ll put up with a week of sharing a room with seven other people, standing in line for hours to get into a show, the massive credit card bill that will come a month after the trip, and the pile of homework that will be awaiting me upon my return to see this many cool bands in a week’s span. Seriously, I need a fucking vacation like nobody’s business, and a trip to NYC to see a bunch of bands sounds like heaven.

Plus, one of these parties has a room that’s got Nathan Explosion of Dethklok billed as DJ’ing. It’ll probably be Brendon Small in a wig and corpse paint, but the idea is still pretty fucking awesome.

Vampire Weekend – “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
World / Inferno Friendship Society – “Fiend In Wien