Someone had to do it..

 

Just too bad it wasn’t someone with better Photoshop skills

Yay Patti Smith, Yoko Ono, Lou Reed, Antony, Sean Lennon & Le Poisson Rouge. Last night was AMAZING. Hope u raised a shitton of $$ for Japan

Last night’s concert made me proud to be a New Yorker. Organized in basically no time, and benefiting a great cause, I saw a still-fiery Patti Smith and a beyond-grizzled Lou Reed trade licks and verses with scream queen Yoko Ono, who at 78 had more energy than most people I know. The highlight was her duet with Antony, which was so heartfelt they couldn’t stop singing it, even after the song was over. Phenomenal.

Gimme Pizza…most disturbing video EVER?

 

 

JAPAN!!!

Celebs Who Got Stared Down By Maria Abramovic

Bjork

Sharon Stone

Lou Reed

Isabella Rossellini

Rufus Wainright

Kim Cattrall

James Franco

Marisa Tomei

Matthew Barney

BONUS: Three Kids Who Also Took Part

My Book

is nearly done. Been working on it since summer 08, originally in an artist colony in France, then periodically in New York, and, after a number of rewrites, edits, etc., it’s now officially in beta. Huzzah.

Not gonna talk much about it, aside to say that it’s YA (young adult), but not in the vein of Harry Potter, more Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Pullman, along with Twilight, although it’s way less retarded, flowery and “vampirey.” No blood suckers in this one, and no magic spells or orcs or magical closets or anything of the sort. If anything, it’s more science fiction than fantasy, although it has elements of both.

Sometimes it’s easier for me to think in terms of movies than books, so I want to say it’s like Juno (although the narrator is WAY less annoying and verbose) meets Edward Scissorhands. It’s modern yet Gothic, funny yet dark, a love story but also an action-adventure. Basically, it’s got it all.

Will reveal more when the time is right. For now, just know that’s it’s almost finished, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Tomorrow!

Secret Staten Island Ship Graveyard

This weekend a buddy of mine and I went on a mission to a secret ship graveyard in Staten Island, where old boats are left to die. One of the coolest places I’ve ever been to, although it was like being in a Super Mario Bros. game, as each step could be your last.  I nearly lost it myself, at one point my leg falling through a rotted piece of wood, but managed to come away with just a few scrapes, along with some old tools and a nice chunk of a steering wheel.

Leonard Cohen, Radio City Music Hall, 5/17

The little old guy’s still got it.  He danced, crooned, swayed, charmed and ran around the stage like someone half his age.   All the musicians and singers were awesome, especially the Webb sisters, who at one point did cartwheels.  He played my two favorite songs, Dance Me to the End of Love and First We Take Manhattan, Then We Take Berlin, along with practically every other solid hit the guys’ got – Chelsea Hotel, I’m Your Man, So Long Marianne, Bird on a Wire, Suzanne, etc.  And when he did Hallelujah, it was spiritual man.  I cried.  And it wasn’t the first time of the night.

The only two clunkers, if you could even call them that – they were performed perfectly; I just don’t think they’re great songs – were Democracy and Closing Time.  But every other selection was spot on.  The whole thing lasted three hours, with a brief break, and it was less a show than an EVENT, an EXPERIENCE.  Like, this guy GETS IT, and is operating on a different frequency than the rest of us.  And tonight, he shared it with the audience, none of whom, I’m sure, walked away disappointed.  Truly phenomenal.

Here’s the set list:

Dance Me to the End of Love

The Future

Ain’t No Cure For Love

Bird on a Wire

Everybody Knows

My Secret Life

Who by Fire?

The Chelsea Hotel

Waiting for the Miracle

Ring the Bell

Anthem

Tower of Song

Suzanne

The Sisters of Mercy

Take This Waltz

Back on Boogie Street (?)

Hallelujah

I’m Your Man

A Thousand Kisses Deep (spoken word)

Democracy

So Long, Marianne

First We Take Manhattan, Then We Take Berlin

Famous Blue Raincoat

If It Be Your Will

Closing Time

I Tried to Leave You

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