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Apparently yesterday was a very stressful start of the week for a number of you and I had a harder time than I expected finding someone to come along to Mercury with me. In the end I recruited my friend A with the added complication that she has a friend visiting who she wanted to bring along. So I go down to Mercury Lounge to find out if I can get a third ticket. The glum troll at the door tells me there are no “tickets” and I cannot have my hand stamped and return; they have a “no reentry policy.” She says there “might be” tickets still available at 10:00 when Nous Non Plus comes on. I pout. I cajole. I reason with the troll, all to no avail.
A+1 arrives and we wander around the LES to find a place to eat. We end up at ‘inoteca, which is owned by the same people who own ‘ino in the W.Village. I’m going to state for the record that I vastly prefer ‘ino; it’s a better value, more creative, and has more of a neighborhood feel.
At any rate, we munched on over-priced salads and panini and then marched back to Mercury to confront the troll once again. Now she tells me she won’t know if she has an extra ticket “until the last band [Nous Non Plus] hits the stage, which of course totally blows because it means I can’t see any of the opening acts and have an hour to kill. I do a bit more pouting and then the three of us walk down to Pianos to have a few drinks.
Pianos has very positive connotations for me; I saw some of my first concerts in NYC there and I feel like the atmosphere is generally cheerful. We were approached by this very random group of guys, one of whom decided to tell each of us what profession we were suited for. I am apparently destined to be a professional badass. If anyone has advice on how to pursue that goal do let me know!
Finally we end up being given the privelege of purchasing a third ticket and find our way into the back of Mercury to see Nous Non Plus. Luckily they were really awesome and totally worth the nonsense, though I will probably avoid that venue in the future. They were bouncy and faux french and one of the girls was wearing a bodysuit and the other had on a top hat and opera gloves and I was altogether charmed. Here are two (sadly not very clear) pictures:
Here’s the music video for their first single from their new album, Menagerie:
I think it’s awesome that Americans are singing in French, such a cool parallel with all the French musicians singing in English. I’ll be keeping tabs on them!
6 comments
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February 10, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Qsoz
Ha, I used to work with Jean-Luc Retard aka Dan Crane.
Dan’s also one of the protagonists in Air Guitar Nation
February 11, 2009 at 10:46 am
Do Bianchi
I love ‘Ino and ‘Inoteca (the Denton brothers are some of the nicest folks in the business) and I love NN+, too! ;-)
Merc is always a great sounding room but the attitude kinda sux… they could use some “zen attitude” as they say on the TGV in France!
Thanks for the kind words about the show…
February 11, 2009 at 11:02 am
thebigredapple
Thank you for reading! It was definitely a fun show and I was bummed that the management at the venue took away from the total experience. I hope next time they play they’re in a more “zen” location!
April 13, 2009 at 12:20 pm
April 13-16 Take 1: What to do? « The Big Red Apple
[…] with an indie rock bent. I’m a fan of his previous work with Nous Non Plus (you may recall my rave review of their concert at Mercury Lounge), and I’m excited to see how cool he can make the songs of my […]
April 28, 2009 at 11:15 am
April 28-30 What to do? « The Big Red Apple
[…] a great line-up at the Mercury Lounge- Bryan Dunn, Wakey! Wakey! and Casey Shea. Now you know how I feel about the Mercury Lounge, but I think Wakey! Wakey! might be worth putting up with the […]
July 27, 2009 at 3:25 pm
The Big Red Apple · April 13-16 Take 1: What to do?
[…] with an indie rock bent. I’m a fan of his previous work with Nous Non Plus (you may recall my rave review of their concert at Mercury Lounge), and I’m excited to see how cool he can make the songs of my […]