Baby Calendar

Because I chose New York’s slowest hamburger joint, I arrived at the Happy Happy Birthday To Me showcase just in time to catch Poison Control Center sliding around on the floor for their last song. Bummer. I’d heard such good things about them, but missed it all.

I didn’t have long to mourn, however, because Russian Spy Cameras quickly took the stage and launched into their antics. I was totally unfamiliar with them, but couldn’t help but enjoy myself. It was like watching your kid brother’s band–if your kid brother is actually not half bad.

Russian Spy Cameras

After getting some quick tips from a real photographer (they didn’t help, I’m hopeless), hugging Mike from HHBTM and chatting up anyone I knew–it wasn’t hard, half of Athens and Lexington moved into one room for the night–Baby Calendar stepped up to the plate.

They were bright and good. Thinking back on it, that’s all I remember: I couldn’t help but grin while they played, and they seemed to just exude happiness. Plus, hearing “Traffic in the Tropics” was very cool.

Keith John Adams on a stool

I hate to act unpatriotic, but the performance of the night was without a doubt delivered by Keith John Adams, a quick-tongued and “jolly” brit who knew how to work the crowd. The first thing he did was jump up on a stool in the middle of the crowd and yell “Hey!! I’m Keith John Adams and I’m going to play some songs for you…but first you’re going to have to shut the f**k up!” Priceless.

He played a song or two acoustically from his perch, but really got the show going when he too the stage with Casper and the Cookies as his backing band. He rocked though his songs–and absolutely killed with “Dad”–before ending just as he began. He took out a toy piano and asked a fan, also named Keith, to hold it for him as he plunked out “Inconsequential Thought.” What can I say? He was quite the showman.

Keith John Adams gets by with a little help from a fan

Casper and the Cookies closed out the night with some rocking renditions of songs off their new album, The Optimists Club. They jammed out quite a few times, and had quite a blast doing so. I’ve never seen people look so happy as when they exchanged some sheepish grins during “Mr. Superstar.”

Casper and the Cookies