Concert Review: KaiserCartel and the Happy Ending Music and Reading Series, Veterans' Day 2009

Written by: Vanessa Machir and Stephanie Gorton

At famed Joe’s Pub in New York, something strange and wonderful happens once a month: the Happy Ending Music and Reading Series. Curated by novelist Amanda Stern, it features several published authors reading from their works, one musical guest, a peculiar set of rules, and a theme to tie it all together (this one was Crisis and Suburbia).

The first crisis of the night was introduced quickly--Stern hauled an intern up on stage, who explained she had done a really, really cool photo and video montage for our viewing pleasure, but the computer rejected the CD she had saved it on, so we wouldn’t be able to see it after all. Oops.

Stern explained the house rules for her series: musicians must play four of their own songs and one cover song (and attempt to get the entire audience to sing along), while authors must attempt one “challenge” while they are on stage, which could be anything (speed French braiding and making out with a stranger from the audience were both listed as options).

She then introduced the band of the evening, Brooklyn-based indie rock duo Kaiser Cartel (Courtney Kaiser and Benjamin Cartel), who recently had two of their songs featured on HBO’s new show Bored to Death. Cartel started their first song with his acoustic guitar, but once Kaiser tried to chime in on her guitar, the second crisis struck: her amp was not turned on. And another intern bites the dust. Once the situation was rectified, the song quickly established the band’s talent for harmonizing. Kaiser’s pretty, clear voice took the lead with Cartel’s providing a perfect foil. For the second song, Cartel climbed behind the drums for a more upbeat, country rock sound. Their third song was a melancholy guitar-driven ballad, which reminded me of Elliott Smith‘s music.

After Kaiser Cartel exited the stage, the third crisis presented itself: Stern admitted she forgot to read the band’s bio when she introduced them. “It’s because I am not a professional,” she deadpanned. “I suck at this, and should go do something else.”

She did, however, remember to read the bio for the first reader, Victor Lodato, author of coming-of-age novel Mathilda Savitch. The glimpse he gave us into his book was a compelling one; Mathilda, the 13-year-old heroine, confesses she wants “to be awful” in order to escape the terminal boredom that is her life. After reading several pages, Lodato decided to get on with his challenge. To make his voice sound more like a teenage girl’s, he huffed helium while continuing to read. At one point, Lodato accidentally knocked over the metal podium he had been reading from. “I’m really stoned!” he confessed.

The next act began as sober as ice water -- Lauren Grodstein lives in New Jersey and wasn't cradling any helium balloons. She read from her novel A Friend of the Family, told from the point of view of a solitary, elderly man looking back on a life of accomplishment, surface cohesion, and desires resisted too long. Grodstein's graceful voice contrasts with how fidgety she is onstage, but the audience fell into respectful silence during the reading; she then demonstrated acute comic timing by reading an old postcard from a footloose summer on the EuroRail in her college years. Grodstein's prologue to her "risk" described that summer, her love of food tourism in Europe, and the solace that a Paul Rudnick book had brought over a lonely stretch on the road. However, it's clear she didn't stay lonely for long -- the postcard's clumsily suggestive phrasing, jotted all those years ago by a tipsy and forgotten young man called Mike, was just incriminating enough.

I had noticed Paul Rudnick in the lobby before the show got started: he is tall and sharp-eyed with a dash of old-fashioned style, but when he took the stage his animated voice and manner, making him seem overwhelmingly full of wonder and about to laugh, swept away all Mad Men-type comparisons. "Lauren, I have a confession to make -- I was Mike!" he announced, and went on to read a theatrical monologue that layered one-liners over one another until a complete, and utterly hilarious, picture was conjured up. Told from the point of view of a poised Long Island matron attending a support group for the "Parents of the Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered . . . Curious, and Creative," Rudnick's reading was great irreverent fun. He then led into his challenge, which was to talk about his mother, who had inspired his reading and who had also passed away only a few weeks ago. Rudnick's courage and humor while describing his mother's determined character drew the loudest, most keyed-up applause from the floor. His bit showed how strong the "risk" genre can be, when taken to heart and delivered by a generous and talented chronicler of the lives around him, both real and fictional.

After Stern belatedly read their bio, Kaiser Cartel returned for their last two songs. First up was swingy "Seasons Song," which was catchy, but, due to inclusion of whistling, sounded a lot like Peter Bjorn and John’s "Young Folks." And then it was time for the cover--Kaiser informed us that they had picked an obscure John Cougar Mellencamp song, "Nervous Condition." Kaiser first gave us a tutorial on the lyrics and when to clap, and then asked us to get into the act by pretending we actually had a nervous condition. “I want people to get up and [pretend to] have a seizure,” she said. “You could also shake in your seat, or just look nervous.” I had never head the song before, but in Kaiser Cartel’s hands it was fun to listen to, and their harmonizing added great depth. Sadly, no one actually faked a nervous condition, but there was a lot of clapping along.

The Happy Ending Music and Reading Series

Kaiser Cartel

Victor Lodato's Mathilda Savitch

Lauren Grodstein

Paul Rudnick on IMDb

Amanda Stern