April 30, 2006
View Comments | Post CommentEef Barzelay in concert in DC!
Eef Barzelay, singer of alt-rock indie band Clem Snide, is coming to D.C. He's playing at the Iota Club & Cafe in Arlington on May 4. In addition to being, notably, the other Barzelay one can find by googling, and probably being a distant cousin of mine (there aren't many Barzelays in America, and even fewer who aren't spelled "Barzelai"), he's actually a very accomplished musician. I first discovered him maybe four years ago by googling my own last name (Shut up. You do it, too.). But it turns out his band is actually fairly well-known, and he's getting a ton of press right now for his new solo album. And besides, he has, objectively, the coolest name ever.
His new solo album is called The Ballad Of Bitter Honey, and it got a 7.2 from Pitchfork. And while I preferred him with the backing band, it's pretty good. The title track is a first-person tale of a female rap-video booty-shaking extra, and starts out, "That was my ass you saw bouncing/ Next to Ludacris./ It was only on the screen for a second but/ It was kinda hard to miss./ And all those other hoochie skanks,/ They ain't got shit on me./ And one of Nelly's bodyguards,/ He totally agrees." It's hilarious and off-putting, but the song actually ends up being quite touching.
Clem Snide sounds kind of like early Wilco but with heaps more irony, and, in my opinion, complexity. They had a relative hit several years ago with "Moment In The Sun," which was on some soundtracks and compilations and such. And "Ice Cube" is just a damn catchy song. I'm most familiar with their album The Ghost Of Fashion, so both those tracks are from that album. Anyway, check out these three tracks, and let me know if you want to go to the show on Thursday (I'll drive).
The plan is to go there and try to get back stage by convincing them that I'm his cousin or something. Not that it's any big deal. He's not big enough to require a ton of security, but I'd like to meet him. I'm sure he's found me by googling at various points, as I have him, and I think we need to start a dialogue. A historic googleable Barzelay accords at Camp Iota. But I've always wanted to sneak backstage at a show, and I feel like this is the perfect opportunity (perhaps too good an opportunity to count, even). So, if you want to come participate in my social engineering, let me know.
Sample: Eef Barzelay - Ballad Of Bitter Honey
Sample: Clem Snide - Moment In The Sun
Sample: Clem Snide - Ice Cube
UPDATE: Not at the Black Cat. Someone's DC Concerts calendar was wrong. Updated to reflect the true location, the Iota Club in Arlington.
Posted at April 30, 2006 6:38 PM | Comments (0)
