Like 'Beef', Without the 'B'

Tonight's scheduled enjoyment was none other than Mr. Eef Barzelay, of Clem Snide fame. Though I'm not sure how much longer he can keep billing himself as "of Clem Snide" since he's been touring solo for a while now. But Wikipedia tells me they have an album coming out some time this year, so that's encouraging.

But anyway, I saw him tonight, at Joe's Pub. I got there a little late, or rather, what I considered on time. Let me explain: When a concert says it starts at 7:30, one typically doesn't not expect it to actually start at 7:30. Usually this means they open the doors at 7:30, at which point there's an hour or so for people to wander in, maybe an opener, and then the actual performer. Usually, a ticket that says 7:30 actually means 8:30 or 9:00. Am I incorrect in assuming this?

I walked into Joe's Pub at 7:35 (I know because I checked the time), and Eef was already playing. I guess he's just very punctual. If only I were so dedicated to timeliness. I wasn't the only one that was "late", people streamed in for a good half hour after I did, and to similar dismay.

All that aside, the show was pretty good. The place was packed, and again, being that I was "late" I stood near the back. But the show was good. Unlike the last time I saw him, in Cleveland last spring, he had a full band, and played electric. I wouldn't say it fundamentally altered the performance, but it might have made it a little less personal.

The good news is, he was definitely playing new songs; only a couple were from Bitter Honey, and I only recognized a couple as Clem Snide songs. So it's possible he was playing new Clem Snide songs, or possibly new songs from an anticipated(-by-me) sophomore solo album. But given the fact that he was band-backed and electric, I'd say most of them were probably Clem Snide songs.

So it was a pretty good show, and quick as hell, actually. It started promptly at 7:30 and it was out by 8:15. I was sitting back and enjoying some coffee and cake uptown by 9:00. So that's nice I suppose.

In other news, my parents are flying into town early tomorrow morning, so I'll probably do something touristy (and thus blog-worthy) with them this weekend. Stay tuned for what is sure to be an action-packed thrill ride of action and thrills.

Note: The title of this post was the parting quote from Mr. Barzelay this evening, which would have helped a year ago when I kept spelling it Eaf while trying to Google him.

Note 2: This post was written in the shiny new Blogger Draft, which...doesn't really seem all that different yet. I do like the idea behind it though, as any respectable early adopter could agree.