July 21, 2002 - 4:28 p.m.

a coney island of the mind

subwayng into brooklyn without suds was not the same.. last year this time we headed into the warm warm underground in search of jon spencer peaches and quasi.. this time construction took its toll and a transfer was in need..

walkin down surf ave to the music of rye coallition playin their 40-year old rock as elliot calls it.. check out the boardwalk for luba and other chums.. no luck.. plop myself into the front of the main stage for four hours or so..

in that time i witness the von bondies.. who are "from detroit" as they told us 10 times pouring out the garage rock like sweat.. too bad the girls didnt sing more .. my favorite song "no sugar mamma" didnt hear the light of day..

oh well next up were les savy fav - who rock the party that rocks the body... these 4 young men kill me with insane antics the lead singers takes out on the crowd.. this time he brought 2 bags filled with stuffed animals that he passed out during their set.. he usually sodomised them first or came out into the crowd to kiss boys and dance with the unwilling photographers and security guards.. i love his yelling and demands and his strip tease.. can you say crush..

at this point i thought what could be better.. no sooner said, the yeah yeah yeahs take the stage after much anticipation karen says ki in her ripped up homemade dress and scarf.. nick with his cowboy straw hat and tight black jeans and brian with his jason swartzman face... playing mostly new stuff at first the crowd didnt know what to do... karen smiles and jumps and saunters along as she screams, nick makes his bass sound like five guitars at once and brian who take pictures of the crowd.. they all rock out - i didnt want their set to end - rich, pin, tick, art star, miles away and so many fun new tunes making me more impatient to hear the new album. ok i digress..

the shins we up next... fun psychedelic pop from new mexico.. at this point i spot a familair hair-doo.. air-up from the SLITS!!!!!!!!!!!

she was dancing and swinging her dreads all around in a frenzy.. some people say the shins's sound is 1966 but i say no! its refreshing and like a cool breeze much needed yesterday... so at this point i realize i have stopped sweating - bad - it means sunstroke thanks to richard in "the beach" so i escape the crowd coming in for the donnas and buy some water and hummus..

then to surf ave for the liars, another brooklyn tour de force with a tall austrailian lead singer and a spastic bass/guitar/drum/synth ensamble that tear up the funk.. the crowd danced and grooved to the post punk speed and scream... this band just got signed to mute records so look out for them getting star treatment...

and back over to the main stage with my ride home.. the donna were finishing up and the crowd was clearing out.. so we squeezed up front for sleater kinney.. the sun had moved away and the night was descending upon astroland bringing with it cool breezes and much needed shade.. playing mostly all new songs was annoying of them and a bit of a let down to the folks who wanted to hear some well deserved older tunes.. oh well all of the new songs demand dancing and clapping and the crowd ate it up.. walkin to the car now and realizing i met karen o who told me to "rock on" as she danced to the liars with ari up.. i'm slippin the blade in the marmalade..