so, we decided it would be a good idea to drive to cambridge to see the real kids and the lyres.
the lyres had played the brighton bar sometime in may and i really, really wanted to go but it was during a week where i had so much other shit going on that the idea of driving for 2 hours seemed painful. which doesn't usually happen to me. so you know it was bad.
then i saw that the real kids were playing new york and i was like, WHAT. i didn't know they still did stuff! couldn't get to that show, but as it turns out they were going to be playing a club called the middle east, in cambridge, with the lyres, and also classic ruins. so, we did what any normal people do in this situation- drive for 5 hours to see a show. i mean, why not?
at this point, the dude and i had decided we were going to england together in july (HUGE DEAL right? don't worry, plenty of stories from that to come...) so we thought a road trip to massachusetts would be a good preemptive test, to see if i would murder him after several hours in the car with him. he's still alive, so hooray! we went to a couple of record stores before the show - weirdo was the second one we went to. the first one was cheapo records. that was where FATE INTERVENED. (i like being dramatic.)
i was flipping through new arrivals when i heard the guy next to me ask the guys working at the store "you going to the show tonight? real kids and the lyres." none of them were going; i turned and said "we're going to be there." he looked at me like he didn't believe me and said "oh yeah?" so we got to talking and when he found out we came from pa for the show he was pretty impressed and said "look for me at the show; i'll get you in to meet the guys." at that point i didn't know which "guys" he was referring too, i mean, he was wearing a justin bieber shirt, you know? but it was a nice offer, so we said we would.
the middle east turned out to be a pretty cool place. there is a restaurant upstairs so we got something to eat, and there was our new friend outside! he introduced us to everyone as the people who drove from philly for the show. downstairs, there was a bar and the classic ruins were setting up on stage. they were really good, but i don't know anything about them really, so that's where i will leave you with that.
our new friend (ok, his name is david, i should probably just call him that; this "new friend" business is tiring) found us and said "come backstage, you can meet the guys!" uh. ok. we go backstage with him (this is really happening) and meet john felice. i was not prepared for this at all. it just happened. suddenly i'm shaking hands with john and saying "i like your shirt!" (the standells). i said we had just seen them in may and he said he's never seen them. crazy. he was very sweet, and so was billy cole, the guitarist. on the couch was jeff conolly of the lyres (and also dmz, a band that i love a lot). someone had made cupcakes with real kids song titles written on the tops in icing.
i felt like i was in a dream. here is photographic evidence that it was not a dream, unless dreams have technologically advanced and i was unaware; also, photographic evidence that i make really stupid faces sometimes when i shouldn't.
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| david, john, me, ridiculously tall boyfriend, billy |
anyway, so the lyres played, and it was really fucking good. couldn't tell you a single song that they played, being not-so-familiar with their catalog. they probably did "help you ann" though. fun fact: the standells played that song when we saw them; and there is john in his standells shirt. so, anyway, the lyres were really great and actually watching the drummer was my favorite. he was so intense and i enjoyed his face. also, we watched jeff on stage setting up and he had a bag of some sort. he opened it and pulled out a case. then he opened the case and pulled out another case. then he opened that case and pulled out ANOTHER case. at this point i said "is he doing a magic trick?" then he opened that case and pulled out a piece of cloth. that cloth was wrapped around the sunglasses he wore on stage. pretty ridiculous, right? he's still cool, though.
i really hope everyone read far enough to get to this point because now i am going to talk about the real kids. sadly i only got into this band very recently, but boy do i love them. once again i have to thank my boss at the record store for this one. the real kids record was being re-released fairly recently and he asked if i wanted it, and i was like, who? and he said, "you have to like this band." and we listened to them, and he was right. although it took a few listens for me to really, REALLY get into them, there's been no turning back since it happened. "all kindsa girls" really grabs you, if you want a song to listen to that will get you into them. but then, that's the opening song off their self-titled album, so if you like that you may as well just keep listening.
john felice, the founder/lead singer/guitarist of the real kids, started out as a modern lover, believe it or not. he's not on that first modern lovers album, having left the band before the recording to start his own band. that band was the kids. but there was another band called the kids, which they found out after doing a show with jonathan richman and the modern lovers. jonathan said something like "aw, don't worry, you guys are the real kids." hence, the name. i love that story.
right, so, the real kids show. i took an upside down picture of the setlist:
this isn't entirely accurate, because i remember thinking that night that they definitely didn't do all the songs on there, but now i don't remember which. except that they definitely did "all kindsa girls" (akg, first on the list!), "do the boob," and "my baby's book" because i love those songs and i remember that. we started out standing up front and then david motioned for us to come stand on the side of the stage. i remember feeling like we didn't belong there, and all the stares from people as we walked up there, but it was SO COOL seeing them from the side of the stage! now, here comes my not so good stuff: john was looking a little under the weather. and not just like, oh i had a cold and now i'm feeling ok under the weather. like, bruises on his arms from iv's (not like drugs, guys, don't get the wrong idea; and i'm not being naive, because i found out later that he had spent some time in the hospital before that show). the songs were played a little slower than they should have been. otherwise, i would say they sounded fantastic. his voice isn't affected at all, and his playing was totally fine. the band is tight and i think if john had been feeling better, it would be one of the best shows i'd ever seen. that good.
they've been playing out more since that show, to get their chops up, so i can't wait until i can make it out to see them again.
then after the show we chatted more with david who is a pretty great human, i have to say. and we got to talk more with billy; he gave me his phone number and email address and i gave him mine. nothing has come of it but it's fun to scroll through my phone numbers and see "billy cole" there. it's the little things... and i got this cute picture with him as well:
there you have it. real kids and the lyres, both bands worth seeing!
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