John Vanderslice @ 92Y Tribeca, NY 10/18/08

The "nicest man in indie rock" John Vanderslice played an awesome show as part of the opening night of the brand new 92Y Tribeca, an arts, entertainment and cultural center in downtown New York. During which, the analog-obsessed, singer-songwriter did little to dispel his moniker. He enthusiastically gave home-baked cranberry almond cookies to the audience and even went so far as to hug quite literally everybody in the room (yours truly included). He also raffled off gummy vitamins (yes, such a thing exists) to whoever could answer a trivia question about your favorite political pawn/plumber, Joe.

The set also included several new tunes, including one about a Romanian orphanage that was inspired by the Olympics. Apparently the songs were the result of a very good friend who challenged Vanderslice to write 24 new songs this year. We have a sneaking suspicion that friend is John Darnielle. Though that's purely our speculation it seems exactly the kind of thing he'd do.

After he performed, Vanderslice proposed what only seemed a natural way to follow up his set of quiet, lyrically-thoughtful, acoustic songs –a dance party with an emphasis on the new Lil Wayne album. Cue the DJ! And yet the odd transition was a perfectly complete way to end the night.

Exodus Damage - John Vanderslice
White Dove - John Vanderslice