ok,so last night I FINALLY sucked it up and went to my very first Sean Lennon show. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised and ended up having a pretty great time.The show was in Brooklyn at a place called the "Union Pool".
I had found out about this show when it was posted almost a week ago.I officially decided that I would be attending this one because there have been times before when Sean has played here and I always plan to go but never actually end up doing it. The thing is that, I wouldn't think twice about going if it was going to be Sean as a solo act. But it hasn't really been that way as of late. Nowadays Sean performs as apart of any given musical group that he is instrumental in crafting as apart of his "Chimera" label. So if you come to see Sean, you're gonna have to put up with Sean Lennon AND Company.
Such was the case last night. Sean and his girlfriend,model Charlotte Muhl, were scheduled to perform as a group named "Ghost of A Saber Toothed Tiger" (G.O.A.S.T.T). But at this point, I just wanted to see him LIVE for once in my life, and since "Union Pool" was such a small venue I figured this would be the perfect place to do it. And who knows? Maybe I'll get to actually see him offstage and talk to him.Yet another incentive.
So those two reasons were enough for us to make the trek to Brooklyn to see him. After a brief period of getting lost en route to the venue, we finally find the place, are let in, and almost immediately make a dash for the door that we NOW know, leads to the "garden": - a backyard-type outdoor area with a bonfire that connects the bar to the concert space.
I tried to get the door to the garden open and after a little trouble, I finally was able to stumble through the door...only to nearly COLLIDE with none other than Sean himself.The garden at that time was virtually EMPTY save for a few people and Sean was there by himself.He then glanced at me and I sort of kind of did the same,but I was too embarrassed to say anything to him so I just went over to the other side and waited for my friends.Not exactly the first impression I had in mind for that night. Anywho, while I was waiting,Sean, still alone, kept pacing back and forth literally 2 feet in front of me.I wondered if he was waiting for me to say something, or if he even knew that I was there to see him.I kept looking up from time to time to see what he was doing, and occasionally someone would come up to him and talk to him about how they admire his work, or how they knew him from somewhere and all that stuff. At one point he even came over to where I was and talked Japanese with a girl that asked him for his autograph.(from what I overheard,it sounds like he's pretty fluent) That girl was very brave. I decided at this point that he probably really didn't want to be bothered, and I sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to bother him.
So after a little while he went inside the venue and people started to file in. I got a pretty decent view, but really, the place was so small anywhere was a good view. After some waiting, Sean came out and introduced a Japanese band by the name of "Mi-ku". Mi-Ku consisted of a girl on drums and a guy on electric guitar. Their music was more of the avant-garde, experimental type (one of their songs consisted of the girl on the drums chanting over and over "there's a spider in my room, what should I do?") it's the type of music much associated with Yoko Ono. Needless to say, they got a pretty good reception from the crowd. And some of their songs, regardless of the ludicrous lyrics, were actually equipped with catchy hooks, which made it much more tolerable.
After Mi-Gu, Sean and Charlotte take the stage and began singing songs they written together as G.O.A.S.T.T. I was very impressed with them. Their sound is a mixture of alternative/indie-rock/with just a dash of experimental.Their lyrics seem based off a whole lot of wordplay (One of the songs they performed is titled "Rainbows in Gasoline") which is also very interesting.Sean received and handled the crowd like a pro, though I sort of expected that he would. What I didn't expect however, was the surprising musical abilities of Charlotte. She has a soft little breathy voice that seems to perfectly compliment Sean's tenor.Their opening song was actually a piano piece played entirely by her and as a beginner, she makes bass playing look easy. Sean's longtime musical collaborator Yuka Honda eventually took over the keys and Mi-Gu took the position of drums and electric guitar.And that was G.O.A.S.T.T.
According to Sean, G.O.A.S.T.T doesn't officially have an album out yet, but apparently will soon. I will definitely be getting that record. And as we made our way out of the venue once their 35 minute set was through,I overheard the guy in front of me turn to his friend and say "They're gonna go far". Let's hope so.
Below are a few pictures I took. I have more pictures and a video on another camera that I'll upload tomorrow. It's late and I need sleep.Good Night.
Mi-Ku
G.O.A.S.T.T
Song of The Moment: The La's- "There She Goes"
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