AT LEAST THESE ERRORS DON’T AFFECT THE WHOLE WORLD

So you know that post from yesterday mentioning how I would be going to see Craig Wedren play at The Living Room and then some other bands at Luna Lounge if only I wasn’t going to this Democratic benefit called “The End of an Error”? Yeah … I kind of wish I had gone to see Craig, and The Go Station, Neon Thrills and Morning Theft because I don’t know about any of you who happened to be at Spirit with me last night, but the evening was a major disappointment, at least as far as the show itself. I’m happy that I could do my little part to contribute by paying $105 for 3 tickets, but if I had known the evening would proceed as it did, I would have just sent in my donation and headed to the EV.

Actually, I do know about most of you who were at Spirit: you fuckers wouldn’t shut-up! Here was an evening featuring performances by Rachel Dratch, Demitri Martin, Eric Bogosian and Lewis Black, not to mention speeches by Congressman Anthony Weiner, Manhattan Borrough President C. Virginia Fields and NY Attorney General Elliott Spitzer and musical performances by The French Kicks, John Wesley Harding and, the headliners, Yo La Tengo. Now, to be fair to the crowd for half-a-second, the sound was absolutely terrible. Or I should say, when each act started (especially The French Kicks and Yo La Tengo), it seemed to take the sound board operator forever to get any kind of mix that even resembled listenable. But even when the screeching guitars and mic feedback stopped hurting, it was still awful. There was always too much bass; so much that all you heard was a consistent low hum that every now and then sounded like a slightly different frequency. All the vocals were ridiculously muddy, also with too much bass as well as what sounded like a bit of unnecessary echo. Suffice to say, I have no idea if I like The French Kicks, who one second sounded just like The Strokes and the next like a slightly mellower U2, because I couldn’t hear what their instruments were actually playing. Yo La Tengo, who I loved, seemed to get to an almost bearable mix by the 3rd or 4th of their 6 (or was it 7?) songs.

But you know what? I would have dealt with the crappy sound in this cavernous club (with some of the worst and slowest bartenders running one of the most disorderly bars I’ve ever encountered, by the way), but what was impossible to ignore was the constant chatter of the entire crowd, at least in the area I found myself most of the evening. It seemed to bother some of the speakers/performers, and rightfully so. What the hell was going on? I know Spirit is just a big club where people usually come to drink and try to talk above the pulsating music, but didn’t everyone there come to support the cause as well as see some very talented people? If they wanted to just have a normal NYC club night, why not go somewhere else? Send in a donation if need be, and then give some other club your $7-10 per drink.

I seriously couldn’t believe it. As the acts would continue, the constant murmer of 100 voices talking at once would get louder and louder. People were trying to make sure their companions could hear them … over the volume of that annoying guy onstage! I think Demetri Martin was really funny, but I can’t be sure because I only heard every other joke. I’m pretty sure Eric Bogosian (of whom I’ve been a huge fan for years) performed a really interesting new monologue — apparently something he’s been working on and never done publically before — but I can’t be sure because the two girls to my left talking about what beer to get next wouldn’t shut up. The crowd showed Elliott Spitzer a little love. And people seemed to pay attention to Lewis Black — it’s the only moment of the entire show that I noticed nobody waiting for a drink at the bar. But that’s probably because the two of them spoke the loudest of anyone all night, and you could still hear miscellaneous conversations.

It’s just unfortunate, and I actually also felt bad for MC Paul Scheer who was out of his element. I was only familiar with Scheer from his participation on VH1’s Best Week Ever, but his jokes were relatively flat, and he lost the audience about 2 minutes after he stepped onto the stage, if not sooner. He kept trying to keep things moving, but nobody seemed to care, and instead, he just kept doing silly little bits and jokes.

So, you know … go Kerry! But next time somebody organizes a political fundraiser that includes a bunch of speeches and performances that isn’t a simple rally in some public park, maybe creating such a social setting is actually counter-productive. I know next time something like this is scheduled, I’ll have to think twice about going.