June 10, 2009
The last time I saw PJ Harvey at New York City's Beacon Theatre, in October 2007, she wore a diaphanous, white dress and worked a stage full of instruments. Traipsing from piano to guitar to unidentifiable noisemakers, she belted out tunes from her then-current White Chalk album, and plenty of classics.
We got the opposite effect with PJ's return to Manhattan, and to the Beacon, at last night's show with longtime collaborator/guitarist John Parrish. The seated crowd -- in my opinion, seats were not right for the five-piece-band concert -- were assaulted with a full-on, loud-speaker sound, as a barefoot PJ (who remained guitarless for the entire show) belted out songs from the duo's two albums, Dance Hall at Louse Point and this year's A Woman a man walked by.
Read more at GRGR's Blog page ...
June 7, 2009
Just got back from a vacation that practically doubled as a high school reunion! Deanna, my high school crosscountry pal who's become a very good friend in the last five years, got hitched to Joe on this awesome island where no one can drive anything but a golf cart (unless you're the fuzz, of course). The sun totally burnt my back, but other than that (and a little freakout at Zack for eating sugary chocolate brownies), the vacation totally rocked.
Reuniting with Shejal, Bhavini, Brett and their spouses was trippy cool. We're all in our early 30s, and I hadn't seen any of them since our five-year reunion. And I hadn't seen Kevan and Jeff since I graduated from high school.
How can I this vacation? Lots of seafood and sun. A blur of champagne-induced madness on a nightly basis (but yours truly hit the bed at 1 a.m.). Volleyball and football on the beach. White sand. Friends, friends, and fun!
I hated flying home (well, I actually just hate flying but that's a different story).
Anyway, it's time for you to learn something this summer. And lo and behold, I have the perfect article for you. Read "Fantasy Roles," an article I did for Metromix New York this week. Xoxox
May 19, 2009
It's showtime! MM & The Underage Hotties is playing Dublin Pub in New Hyde Park (Long Island) w/ G-Spot and Guns Religion Money. 21 and over. $7. More details TBA.
Dublin Pub
2002 Jericho Tpke
New Hyde Park, NY 11040
(516) 352-9131
May 7, 2009
May 4, 2009
Wow! That's all I can say after experiencing Saturday night's GRGR Girl Punk Showcase with Tibbie X, S.M.U.T., Solito, LTG, and the awesome Trauma Team 666 (a total gorefest/feminist/twisted experience). Hard to pick a favorite. Then again, I'm biased (my band The Underage Hotties Played).
Tibbie X kicked off the night with her ferocious, kitten-growl-meets-dead-silence set. She wore a homemade "I love Swine Flu" dress and hot-pink tights, and (at one point in her brief set) tied up an innocent audience boy while reciting explicit poetry.
Read more about the night at Girls Rock & Girls Rule's Blogspot Page.
April 28, 2009
It's been two weeks since my grandfather's passing, and I am at peace with it. His paintings, more remarkable in the live setting than could ever be translated online, hang all over the country, and I hope people will get to know the real Peter Torrieri through these works.
In the meantime, I am keeping busy with a bunch of AWESOME rock and roll activities, including the soon-to-be-relaunched Girls Rock & Girls Rule site. I've got an exclusive interview with Daisy De La Hoya and Tish Ciravolo (founder of Daisy Rock Guitars) in the May '09 newsletter, too.
Finally, if you haven't noticed the awesome flier below, then please check out this Friday's show!! My band The Underage Hotties goes on at 10:45 p.m. but you MUST get there earlier. Tibbie X is my hot/sexy friend and the lead singer for one of the most frenetic, old-school-punkish bands in the East Village today -- Kissy Kamakaze. Oh, and Solito (formerly "S") plays guitar better than any guy I've ever dated (and believe me, most of them think they are rock monsters!). Hope to see you Saturday! xoxox
April 15, 2009
Peter Torrieri II, loving grandfather, father, husband and friend, passed away last night. He was 92. We're a little beside ourselves with grief right now. Peter "Pietro" T. was an amazing man. Here's a web site featuring some of his paintings, which I created a few minutes ago:
http://www.maritorri.com/peter_torrieri
April 13, 2009
Wow, has it really been two weeks since I hit up this blog? How negligent of me! Zack's roommate Paul is back in Stamford, albeit with this big ol' grizzly beard. Z & I spent the weekend in D.C. for Easter (and I did my first passover seder on Friday), though the weekend had a few sad undertones.
Anyone who's lost someone they've loved their entire life can relate to how I'm feeling right now.
My grandfather, the great "Nonno" Peter Torrieri, a first-generation Italian who came here from Abruzzo in the 1920s, is hanging onto life by a thread. It's so painful to watch him, supine in a nursing home bed, eyes shut but gasping for air with his wide-open mouth (he can no longer breathe through his nose). Fed by morphine and oxygen via respirator, he survives ... barely. It's the most disturbing thing I've ever seen -- my beloved grandfather gasping for what's left of his life! Needless to say, I've spent much of the last week beside myself with grief, bursting into tears in the middle of the night, at church, in the arms of those who love me.
Why must this happen in the midst of a crappy economy and general failings of print journalism?
On a more positive note, I have a few fires burning. We're launching a revamped newsletter at Girls Rock & Girls Rule headquarters, complete with a brand new web site. I'm supposed to be going to ASCAP's annual conference next week (barring any sort of funeral), and cover the show as a press person. Which, of course, is very exciting. I did begin my new life in NYC as a music intern for the Village Voice.
But the best is this: I'm creating/co-curating an art exhibit featuring my Nonno's paintings of Baltimore. It's his first actual "exhibit" outside of Italian fairs, and the theme is "Baltimore." He painted tons of landscape pictorials and cityscapes when he lived there (in Reisterstown) with my Nonna Mary.
I'll post a few in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here's to a happy, healthy spring!