Last night Kevin and I went to see Antony and the Johnsons. I was having a weird day where all I had to eat was two americanos and a vitamin D tablet and I had convinced myself that I was having a heart attack because I was having a sudden sharp pain between my shoulder blades. So I was having a toss-up moment – should I go see Antony or should I go to the emergency room?
Luckily I chose to go to the concert, and what a nice show it was (despite some crackly speakers). My favourite part of a live show is when a song is re-contextualized and you look forward to listening to it again with new ears. This happened a few times through the show, but especially during the encore when Antony stopped singing “Cripple and the Starfish” mid-verse. He said he was distracted because he was thinking of the story of how this song came to be. Then he went on to tell a really endearing and (now) hilarious story as if he were in therapy, and I’m completely paraphrasing, about how a newspaper in his hometown of San Jose had asked him about his high school years. He told the reporter that he hated high school. This spurred him to tell us about this boyfriend he had in high school who wasn’t really his boyfriend and would say things to Antony like “I got my girlfriend pregnant so we can’t go out anymore.” Antony said that this boyfriend also didn’t really touch him romantically so Antony suggested that his boyfriend hit him instead. Antony’s boyfriend never punched him, but that relationship and interaction led to the song, “Cripple and the Starfish”. It was a nice peek under the self-proclaimed shroud of mystery that is Antony.
If you happen to be in any of the cities Antony and the Johnsons are touring over the next while, I highly recommend them. Check out the tour dates and cities HERE.
Klarth,
i was in n-9 actually. in the middle of the the first floor, to the left, to the left.
i’m glad you had fun (or did you? that wasn’t clear) despite the pissers and beer buyers.
They were on David Letterman last night and it was a great performance.
I was there, too, T-fro. I have a while new appreciation for the guy. I wasn’t sure I’d enjoy the show.
I had heard of the Crazy in Love cover before, and I was glad he performed it. Where did you sit? I was in the main floor row by the aisle where everyone kept getting up to piss or buy beer.
i saw him on 2/13 in milwaukee. i didn’t hear anything as rich as the boyfriend story, but he gave a hilarious monolog on whistling “whoohoo” towards boys while in grammar school; and later educated the audience on the value (“especially if you’re feminine”) of saying under your breath “fuck you” to anyone you’re about to have an interview or audition with. it was an amazing show too. highlights being, of course, the songs i already love so dear, and an unexpected cover of “crazy in love.”
If your thinking your having a Heart Attack take an aspirin not Vitamin D
Vitamin is the worse thing you could take and too much D will cause a heart attack
Yes, I was lucky enough to see Antony perform in Knoxville, TN Saturday and then Atlanta on Sunday after. And I can say I grew wings listening to them. Plus, I was able to meet Antony after the show in Atlanta. He was so sweet I fell in love with him. I mean, I was already in love with his music after years of listening to them. But, meeting him and getting my pic taken with him was one of the best damn days of my miserable life! yay!