The Decemberists in Central Park

I've been to my fair share of Decemberists shows. Six, in fact. And even though they do tend to play some of the same songs each time ("crowd-pleasers" I think they call them), they never get old. Whether that's because the songs themselves are timeless -- they are -- or whether the band just never plays them the same way twice -- they don't -- I'm not quite sure. But the fact remains, as long as I live, I don't think I'll ever walk away from a Decemberists show unsatisfied.

The most recent such show was last night, at Central Park's SummerStage. I left work a little early and got to the park at about 6:00 pm. It was a hot day, but the sun was setting and by the time the band got on stage it had cooled down enough. But before that were two openers, Land of Talk and Grizzly Bear.

Land of Talk really impressed me. They had a certain Cardigans-esque quality, probably attributed to the singer's accent, that made me instantly want to hear more. Where have the Cardigans been, anyway? Are you out there, Nina Persson? If so, make another album. Anyway, Land of Talk were good, good enough to follow up on, anyway. Grizzly Bear, on the other hand...

Let's just say, if it weren't for the sweltering heat, I may have fallen asleep on the astro-turf during Grizzly Bear's performance. Each song was the same mixture of soaring vocals and one line repeated for what seemed like eight minutes apiece. Sometimes the drums or the bass would play a nice fill and give me some hope of enjoying the song, but they would inevitably be drowned out by high-pitched warbling and/or that song's one line repeated for the ninetieth goddamn time. D-, Grizzly Bear. See me after class.

But then the Decemberists came on. Oh, Decemberists, you can make any opener worth putting up with. You and your 9,000 instruments and your lovable bass player.

They opened with "July, July!" which I suppose I should have expected, and they tried to put together a Summer-themed setlist as best they could. But when a band has songs like the Decemberists', it's hard to play too many songs that are even remotely uplifting or "Summer-y."

After leaving the stage due to their park-mandated curfew, they returned with the announcement that they in fact had plenty of time left to play, so their encore lasted for three more songs. They even had time to finish with their trademark "Mariner's Revenge Song," which included a nap in the middle for all the tired children in the audience.

In all it was a great show, exactly what I've come to expect from the Decemberists. They never fail to impress me each and every time I see them play. Even after so many years of touring, and so many times seeing them play, each show is a beautiful and unique snowflake.

A Storm of Swords

It's been a good summer for reading. As previously blogged, I've been working through the A Song of Ice and Fire series, and I started the third book, A Storm of Swords about three weeks ago. Well I finished it last night, so I figured I'd write about it.

A Storm of Swords is the best book so far in the series, and probably one of the top five books I've ever read (if not, easily top ten). In 1,100 pages it includes dozens of unique and memorable characters, at least ten separate storylines, and more betrayal, sudden twists and gut-wrenching emotion than a fantasy book has any right to be.

And moreso than its prequels, it is a fantasy book. At first I liked that the series wasn't what you would consider "normal" fantasy (i.e., elves, dwarves, magick). But in Storm, Martin subtly sneaks in those familiar fantastic elements that you hate to admit you love; there are still no elves, but there is sorcery, the undead, and even mythical beasts riding other mythical beasts. And there's a dwarf, but he's no Gimli.

As soon as I turned the last page, I knew I would have to start on the fourth book, A Feast for Crows as soon as possible. So I did.

So far I've got a few misgivings about the latest installment, but I'll keep my mouth shut about them until I'm done with the book. If all goes as planned, I'll finish it before Deathly Hallows comes out in a couple weeks. And then what should I read? Suggestions?

A Clash of Kings

I don't usually put a lot of stock in the blurbs on the back covers of books. I've seen too many along the lines of

Not at all...what could be considered...[the] worst book I've ever read[!]
-- Johnny Nobody, Des Moines Central High School Gazette

But there's a quote inside the front cover of A Clash of Kings that couldn't be truer:

The pages seem to pass in a blur as you read
-- Albuquerque Journal

This review is pretty much exactly what I experienced.

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I'm reading A Song of Ice and Fire this Summer. I read the first book A Game of Thrones, and started on the second immediately afterward. Even at almost a thousand pages, I read A Clash of Kings in record time (for me anyway).

The book picks up where the prequel ended (duh), with the kingdom in a bitter civil war, faction fighting against faction and everyone looking to get something out of it. The once unified kingdom now consists of kingdoms led by a fifteen-year-old King in the North, a thirteen-year-old King on the Iron Throne, both of the previous king's brothers laying claim to the kingdom from the South and East, a fourteen-year-old self-proclaimed queen living in the lands to the far East, and a swarm of treacherous backstabbers taking whatever they can get from whichever side will give it to them. As you can see, the title's pretty descriptive. There are a lot of kings.

The most interesting part of the book, for me, was the way it handled the topic of religion. The first book glossed over the role of the gods in the lives of men, but this one took a deep look at how each of Westeros' religions played into their believers decisions. Throughout the book, a red comet hangs in the sky, visible from every direction, and each king or queen who sees it considers it a sign from their god(s) that they're the true leader, the one that will come out of this alive and on top. It serves to sort of unify all the sides, even as they're fighting against eachother.

As with its prequel, A Clash of Kings was at times almost painfully difficult to put down. Almost every chapter kept me begging for more, often leading me to read into the late hours of the night. There's plenty of action, even if most of it isn't outright battle, and there's no shortage of twists. It was so good I hiked to no less than two Barnes & Nobleses this evening in search of the third book, A Storm of Swords (though they weren't even two blocks apart)

Summer Reading

I've done a lot of reading the last couple weeks I've been here. A ton, in fact. Part of that's due to the 40-minute subway rides to and from work every day, and part of it's due to the reading material being really good. It's called A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, and I finished it today.



A Game of Thrones is the first in an ongoing series of books called A Song of Ice and Fire, which is set in the land of Westeros, about fifteen years after a bloody civil war that pitted the land's Seven Kingdoms against eachother. Even as the lands struggle for power or peace, new and terrifying menaces approach from the North and from the East.

The main characters are the members of House Stark, lords of the northern kingdom of Winterfell, a place as cold as the people that inhabit it. Lord Eddard Stark is their level-headed and stoic leader, but he is honorable to a fault. Their enemy is House Lannister, wealthy back stabbers who would trade anything for power.

Aside from the fighting in Westeros, there are two side plotlines. One follows Eddard's bastard son Jon Snow as he mans The Wall, a gigantic structure built to keep the Northern menace from invading. The other follows Daenerys Targaryen, the last descendant of Westeros' previous king Aerys and betrothed to Khal Drogo, leader of the barbaric Dothraki in the East.

I've never considered myself a huge fan of fantasy -- I've read Lord of the Rings, but little else -- but this book was fantastic. I finished it about half an hour ago and I'm leaving to go to Barnes & Noble to pick up it's sequel, A Clash of Kings, right now.

If you're not reading anything this Summer, you should be, and what you read should be this.

I [heart] NY

I know, I know, it sounds cliché and all that, but I really do love New York. Maybe it's because I've only been here a week and a half and I'm still firmly planted in the honeymoon phase, and maybe I'll decide I hate it here in a couple weeks, but for now I'm really enjoying it.

Three distinct things stand out about the last three days that have made me love the city, and my job, more and more.

1.) On Monday, Cory Doctorow gave a talk at Google. That is to say, he gave a talk at Google in Mountain View which was simultaneously video conferenced to New York, where I saw it. His talk was about the economics of information, how America has essentially traded its industrial infrastructure and influence for an information-based economy, and how this is ruining America's freedom of speech, not to mention its economy.

The talk touched on the power the entertainment industry holds over American politics, economy and foreign policy, the evils of DRM and our futile attempts at information security, piracy, the failures of the copyright and patent systems in allowing for innovation, and many other topics. He even turned an accusatory finger at Google itself for going along with DRM and embedding it in its Video product.

It was a very thought-provoking talk, and it gave me even more respect for a guy already brimming with it.

2.) After work on Monday I decided to stroll around the Upper East Side, eventually making my way to Central Park. I'd never been. Suffice it to say, I loved it. I sat by a pond and read, peoplewatched, and just generally enjoyed the beautiful weather. I watched a group of four ducks fly laps around the pond probably 20+ times at breakneck speeds; I'm convinced they were racing each other.

I purposefully only walked through a small corner of the park on the east side near 79th St., so that next time I go I can see completely new things. I'm trying to pace myself while exploring all of the City, so I'll always have something new to see (not that I could see it all anyway, even if I lived here for years).

3.) Today, I promised myself I would find a good coffee shop. Google Maps told me there were a few nearby, and I was sick of just going home every day after work, so I made it a point to find one. And find one I did.

M. Rohr's House of Fine Teas and Coffees is the name of it, and unbeknownst to me, I've walked past the place twice a day every day since I moved here. It's on 86th St., on my way to the subway station to get to work. It's pretty easy to miss; it's little more than a door in the side of a long street of stores. But inside, it's just the kind of place I can see myself spending hours. In fact, I spent a couple hours there today, reading and drinking cup after cup of coffee. So much coffee in fact that I may never get to sleep.

Those aren't the only good things to happen to me in the last three days, far from it, but they were pretty awesome. I have to say, I'm really loving it here. A lot.

However, I do get homesick from time to time, so if you're reading this (and I believe you are), you should give me a call, or better yet plan a trip out to see me. Failing that, you could also mail me something, and I'd be one happy camper.