An indispensable disposable.

From the moment I first heard French composer Yann Tiersen planned to make his way not only to the states, but to Miami, and not only to Miami, but to Grand Central, my thirst for some frolic-worthy folk music became insatiable. Many others must have felt this way too, as the Wednesday night show sold out. Babble filled the air as music lovers of all shapes and sizes discussed (what else?) music and awaited the somewhat reclusive and infinitely talented Frenchman to take the stage.
While Tiersen's most well-known work is the Amélie soundtrack, on which he plays a countless variety of instruments, from piano and violin to accordion and harpsichord, his newest release, Dust Lane, is heavy on the electric guitar. The whimsy that pervades the majority of his previous work isn't found on Dust Lane- it's morbid. But, Tiersen and his men strategically provided glimpses of hope throughout the dark set, with a fiery violin solo midway through, along with a jig that tickled everyone's French folk fancy. And although Tiersen never got his banjo on, his masterful use of violin and mandolin (and guitar), along with his talented accompaniment, had the audience frozen in an almost two hour spell of mass hypnosis.

Spankrock and his 50 friends.

EA Sports threw a bash for their new game Need for Speed - Hot Pursuit, at Grand Central Station last night. Although the party was apparently pretty poppin' until about 11 p.m., by the time we arrived at midnight, it had (for the most part) fizzled out. Then around 1:30 a.m., Spankrock took the stage. Joined by him were his DJ and what he called his "50 friends," i.e. everyone in the joint, dancing around on stage and alongside him. After opening with Backyard Betty he performed a couple of other tracks of his own. But, eventually the performance just turned into the DJ mixing other people's music, albeit mixing it well, while Spankrock occasionally spit rhymes alongside him. Once that had fizzled out too, the party moved down the street to Bar, where the duo followed and provided more jams for our listening pleasure.