MOG

over the weekend, a dream became true. tis cheesy, but that's the way it went down. i was so floored to hear the silver jews were breaking their decade-plus reputation of not performing live that i bought two tickets to see them in nyc back in dec. unfortunately, i never made it. they finally made their way over to my side of the continent and where i could be easily disappointed i was absolutely not. stephen malkmus opened the show solo-stylee playing three old pavement jams to wild response. david berman, decked out in a black embroidered suit, joined him for a hilariously embarrassing version of blue arrangements that reminded me of an old, old man trying to sing along with folks who were singing happy birthday to him but he couldn't remember the words so he just sort of slurred and when he finally remembered the words he would sing loudly but they would be for the wrong verse and dang, it was just plain funny. and kinda sad. i was afraid david was wasted (as in the classy video below) or worse, possibly permanently brain damaged (as most geniuses are). the silver jews blew the crowd away with opener, punks in the beerlight, david still flubbing lines, but that was the worst (and the best) of it. once they found their groove, david was solid and plowed thru songs like the perfect frontman, one hundred percent cool perfection. best banter: "we went out for german food before the show...the thing about german food is two hours after you eat it, you're hungry...for power!!!" the band played a good mix of songs from the past several albums with david's (mzzzmorizingly beautiful) wife, cassie, adopting a fair share of the vocal duties. oddly, it was one of the loudest shows i've ever been to. my adoration for this dude, and his writing, is highly embarrassing but well deserved. in another era, or in a place where smarts in the brain were actually appreciated, he would be our johnny cash. or our john elway. john denver? denver omlette. ornette coleman. coleman lantern. buy his records (i vote his latest, tanglewood numbers, or maybe american water) and if you're looking for some good reading, his book actual air is impossible not to enjoy. srsly. it will blow your balls off.