Slumming in Queens
come rock. this friday 12/18. much fun will be had.
who: do you see the dark
what: live rock music, two sets, originals and covers
where: maggie maes, 41-15 queens blvd (btw 41st & 42nd— across the street from the 7 train)
when: friday 12/18 — first set at 11pm, second set at 12:30am
how: just show up with ID. it’s free and drinks are cheap.
why: why the fuck not?
That was my Friday night and it turned out pretty damn good. I did not get out of the house until like 9:30 and was even able to do some Christmas shopping before hand. For the last week or two I have been complaining that I keep skipping shows so I finally corrected that. It is interesting that I made it to this one. Nope I passed up burlesque, a big theater show at the Grammercy, and a holiday Queen V’s Take Back New York show over at Don Hill’s. All of those are over in the city. . . city being Manhattan. Have to say I never checked out Queens before.
The drive over was easy-across the Tri-Borough, and down the BQE, onto Queens Boulevard. I was worried I would not find a parking space but no issue- Found one right out in front. Maggie Maes is a cool bar with some space in the back where they were just setting up the PA. So after saying hello, I found a bar stool and had a White Russian. Granted this was a place with an English or Irish flavor, with lots of beer and ale around me, but it is the holidays and it was cold out, and I had skipped dessert. So I settled in with my drink and read the daily news, checking out the sales for cars. they had a couple flat screens around the place playing highlights from English football – soccer.
Anyway, Do You See the Dark went on around 11:00 or so. they did an original and then a Zeppelin tune. That was different as they had not done covers before. For me that is a line in the sand. I struggle with finding venues because I have only booked original bands doing their own tunes. So i had come to Queens to see them do a mix of originals and covers. They are one of my favorite acts and it was what I would call a ‘hometown’ show, and I did want to do something
Anyway, the Zeppelin tune was pretty good. I believe it was “Whole Lotta Love”. Rachel did a good job generally with handling the vocals. They went on to do a Pink Floyd tune from the Wall, and that got my attention. I got to see a style of guitar playing that you do not get to see Mike doing usually. Later on in the set they did the Police’s Message in a Bottle. Frank on the drums always impresses but it seemed like he was really enjoying that stuff that Stewart Copeland does with the high-hat in that tune. Well at least I got into it!
So the covers worked. The second set they mixed it up further, a couple of their tunes, a few more covers-even a Sabbath tune or two. They did one tune I was thinking was theirs at first, but was in fact was Faith No More. so some unknown gems too. After the two sets I was thinking this might work in Westchester – maybe I could sell such a mix to venues. Places that previously were not interested in purely original acts. Forget about that though, it was just neat to see the band doing this mix of tunes and various styles. Yeah I love their originals but this was cool too, simply something different.
And as far as my choice of shows, it was a good night. Some good music at a cool bar, with good folks.
