After wrapping up a string of dates with Real Estate, The Babies appeared on East Village Radio this week for a three song performance that included the new number \u201cSlow Walkin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was an acoustic set minus bass player Brian Schleyer and it\u2019s the first Babies radio show appearance I\u2019ve heard them do.<\/p>\n
The most unique element of the live music portion of the segment was the layer of city noise that could be heard faintly as the band played during the 1 PM hour on Tuesday.\u00a0 The East Village Radio studio on First Avenue is set just off the street.\u00a0 Everyday urban sound from the outside seeps in.\u00a0 When Kevin Morby and Cassie Ramone performed the great duet \u201cTrouble,\u201d you could faintly hear a box truck shifting up and out of low gear in the background.\u00a0 There was a honking horn.\u00a0 And when Morby crooned about the trouble-maker (\u201cHere She Comes, now\u2026\u201d) the screech of what sounded like a MTA bus braking to a stop came through almost on cue.\u00a0 The naturally occurring placement of these noises added a lot to the rendition of what is one of a couple gems on the just-released six-song 12-inch \u201cCry Along With the Babies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The interview portion of the Babies\u2019 visit to EVR didn\u2019t go as well.\u00a0 DJ Edan Wilber blew a great chance to introduce his listeners to a rising, road-tested rock and roll outfit ready to tell some stories.\u00a0 After asking the requisite questions about who was who and what bands everybody liked at the moment, Wilber seemed to throw his hands up in the air and quit on the whole thing despite sharing the room with articulate subjects.\u00a0 Said Wilber:\u00a0 \u201cDo you guys have anything else you wanna chat about?\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 I\u2019m usually Chatty Kathy\u2026(sigh)\u2026I\u2019m so sorry\u2026Yeah.\u00a0 I feel like we\u2019re falling apart a little.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it was brought up by Ramone that Babies drummer Justin Sullivan has a strong personal interest in the life history of John F. Kennedy, there was an opening.<\/p>\n
Likely sensing the interview was going nowhere, Sullivan said he was eager to talk JFK.\u00a0 Unfortunately, Wilber shot that down.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cMaybe another time,\u201d said Wilber.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s probably not that interesting to the listeners of this show.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before The Babies exited, listeners got a few nuggets of information.\u00a0 Morby said last weekend\u2019s gig at the K & K Super Buffet in Queens was one of his favorite all-time evenings as a performer.\u00a0 Morby also indicated a Cake Shop show was in the works for sometime next week.<\/p>\n
-The former American Express CEO in charge of setting up the 2014 Meadowlands Super Bowl doesn\u2019t inspire maximum confidence when he talks about his vision for the event\u2018s logistics.\u00a0 Alfred Kelly appeared on Francesa\u2019s show Wednesday.\u00a0 He said the area\u2019s \u201clarge geographic footprint\u201d complicates plans to accommodate and entertain 80-thousand fans and an international media contingent that will stream in here two years from now.\u00a0 Part of Kelly\u2019s coordination challenge is tied to what he says is an obligation giving the state of New Jersey at least the appearance of being a semi-equal host.\u00a0 The economic infusion from the event can\u2019t be totally one-sided in New York\u2019s favor according to Kelly.\u00a0 He says he\u2019s already decided that the two participating teams will stay in Jersey hotels and use the existing training facilities in East Rutherford and Florham Park.\u00a0 What concerned me about Kelly\u2019s comments on Mike\u2019s show was that he views Newark as both an entertainment and lodging hub in the run-up to the game.\u00a0 I like downtown Newark plenty but it doesn\u2019t make sense to make it a major part of the galaxy in the days preceding the game.\u00a0 Out-of-town visitors should be pulled into New York City.\u00a0 Manhattan.\u00a0 It\u2019s pretty simple.\u00a0 If the region wants to make a favorable impression, Kelly needs to narrow his guidance and get the Super Bowl crowd into New York City.\u00a0 Don\u2019t fiddle around with New Jersey.\u00a0 There\u2019s no time for that.\u00a0 The Jets and Giants have landed the big game and made Kelly the boss.\u00a0 Sponsors will be easy.\u00a0 We know both rail and bus infrastructure is golden.\u00a0 Kelly needs to treat Super Bowl guests as if he\u2019s planning a visit from a cousin or an uncle.\u00a0 Get \u2019em into the big city and let the big city do what it\u2019s done for tens of millions of tourists for years and years.\u00a0 It\u2019ll wow \u2019em.\u00a0 Forget Jersey other than for the football game.\u00a0 If Kelly nails this Super Bowl, you may see the Meadowlands get into some kind of Super Bowl rotation.\u00a0 A good starting point would be for him to ditch talk about balancing festivities between both sides of the river.<\/p>\n
-As for this year\u2019s game, I like the G-Men.\u00a0 The over-analysis that inevitably accompanies the two-week Super Bowl break is starting to wear down some prognosticators.\u00a0 You\u2019re starting to hear reputable observers abandon logic and discard consideration of the heavily tilted matchup advantages Eli will enjoy when he\u2019s taking the snaps.\u00a0 Football people all over the place think this is New York\u2019s game to lose.\u00a0 The pro-Giant buzz has become so loud, pundits are doling out backlash for the sake of backlash.\u00a0 One or all of the three New York wideouts will run after the catch.\u00a0 The Giant pass rush will be a big hassle for a guy who plants his feet and surveys the scene.\u00a0 It feels to me like one team is really clicking while the other drew into this game through the side door.\u00a0 If you got in early to get the three and a half, it\u2019s extra pepperoni.\u00a0 I\u2019m a Jet fan.\u00a0 But I\u2019ve enjoyed watching this Giant ride.\u00a0 It all started when the salsa dancer ran the length of the field against my team.\u00a0 I\u2019ll say Big Blue 34-21 over New England.\u00a0 Hakeem Nicks is your game MVP and J-P-P will put the Pats QB on the mat at least twice.\u00a0 Enjoy the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After wrapping up a string of dates with Real Estate, The Babies appeared on East Village Radio this week for a three song performance that included the new number \u201cSlow Walkin\u2019.\u201d It was an acoustic set minus bass player Brian … Continue reading