Still I Fall From Grace With This Microphone

BAND OF SKULLS. The 22-20's. Saint Motel.
The Rickshaw Stop.
4/19/10.

Best $15 bucks I've spent in months.

Saint Motel started it out way better than I expected. Kind of that LA, could've been featured on "The O.C." back in the day sort of thing. You know, Bait Shack material. They had a big screen behind them with images projected and that was a nice touch. I bought their EP (titled "For Play," the cheeky bastards) and chatted with them for a minute. They said they're working on an album (Do you like how it seems like lately all I do is badger the bands I like about when they're going to release an album? You do? So do I). I'll definitely keep tabs on them.



Saint Motel

The 22-20's were fun to start out with (I totally called the fact that they were British - something about their hair just spelled it right out), but they got kind of lame as time went on. Their songs were too long and they all sounded the same, and the band itself just had zero charisma. They were all well into their late twenties, and I just kept looking at them and thinking, 'aren't you ready to give up your rockstar dreams by now?' Which is funny, because most bands I love are at least in that age range. I guess the difference is that it just didn't feel too legitimate or something. Like they weren't doing it because they loved it as much as they were doing it to be cool. Give it up, boys.



The 22-20's

We wedged ourselves into the front row for Band of Skulls which was an AWESOME decision. Emma was on my right, playing bass, her arms and hands extremely veiny and strong. Matt was in the back, ignored by most as he drummed away. Russell, with his long, pointy beard, was far on the left. The best moments were when he or Emma would head towards the middle of the stage during one of their solos. For one song they sort of came together (right in front of me!) and leaned against each other, heads down. Very showy, but in a charming way.



Band of Skulls Gettin' Close

They started with "Light of the Morning," then moved on to a song that I didn't recognize but Danielle got excited about, so I knew it was the Twilight song. If you ever want to hear my rant about the evils of Twilight, let me know and I'll treat you to it. HOWEVER, I will say that the soundtrack for the second movie has its strengths, at least as far as artists go. I haven't heard a lot of the songs, actually, but I do like the Band of Skulls song. "Friends," I think it's called.
Before the show Britt and I had been saying (over and over) to each other which song we most wanted to hear. I was obsessing over "Fires," and she wanted to hear "Cold Fame." I mean, so did I, but "Fires" was a wee bit higher on my list, and vice versa. Those were the only two songs from their album that they didn't play back in December, which is why Britt and I were a little concerned about whether we would get to hear them or not.
About four songs in they did a brilliant rendition of "Fires." They followed it up with "Cold Fame." A-MAZ-ING.



Then Russell goes, "we're gonna play a song we haven't done in awhile, but someone asked us to play it and I'll feel bad if we don't. So please forgive us if we blunder."
The drummer pulled out a fancy guitar (apparently it was Russell's, and new, because Russell was like waiting for him to tune it, saying, "it's the first time it's ever been played; you can't play it out of tune"), and they played "Honest" (I call it the Fleetwood Mac inspired song - and I mean that as a compliment).

They performed every song on the album except "Dull Gold Heart," which is the only song I ever skip when I listen to the CD because I'm usually too antsy to get to "Cold Fame." When they did "I Know What I Am" the crowd got predictably and wonderfully rowdy and excited. SUCH a fun song.



After the set we hung around for a bit as almost everyone filtered out to go home. Emma showed up at the bar so I asked her to sign the poster I'd picked up, which she did. "The boys'll be out in a bit," she said, so we waited and they signed it too. They were a little awkward/British, and Russell is SHORT (well, maybe my height or an inch shorter, but it just feels like he should be taller, the way he kills those guitar solos), but it was cool to get a chance to tell them how much we enjoyed the set.
Which I really, really did.

We're Getting On

This is the first post I'll make that's completely unrelated to the live music I've attended.
I'm interning for this really awesome little publishing company called Flatmancrooked, and yesterday we launched this insane, amazing, unprecedented book.
The cover will sprout into a tree if you plant it.
Zero emissions. It's crazy.
You can go to the website and check it out. If you participate in the launch program, you support the author, the publishing company, and you get some special privileges. For the basic launch, you get a copy of the title novella in the plantable book format. If you do the super launch, you get that, plus the book, plus a postcard written to you from the author while he's on tour, plus your name listed in the second edition. Plus a tour poster and some music.
This is such a rad and revolutionary project, and I'm so happy to be involved in even a little part of it.
Check it out!

We All Grow Old, Use Your Life

I've got two shows to write up and another one coming tomorrow. God I love living in this city.

MANATEE. THE SOFT WHITE SIXTIES. THE TROPHY FIRE. RYAN of AUDRYE SESSIONS (sort of with the full band).
Blake's on Telegraph, Berkeley.
4/16/10.



This was Manatee's CD release party and quite a nice line up of Bay Area talent, if I may say so myself. I was excited to see The Trophy Fire, as I've heard a few of their songs (their cover of "White Christmas" on the Foggy Holiday album is one of my favorite Christmas songs ever, insomuch as it makes Christmas music tolerable) and I wanted to hear more of them. It's always nice to hear Audrye Sessions, obviously, and I'd seen Manatee once before and thought they were pretty solid. Danielle and Britt and I were most stoked for The Soft White Sixties, though. They're just so much fun, and their music WILL make you dance.
Ryan from Audrye Sessions was first, and it had been billed as a solo acoustic show, but he actually played with all of the band except Mike, who he said was in London. Alicia didn't play for every song but mostly she was there. And they had a dude playing trumpet and keyboard (at the same time!) who I later found out is named Graham Patzner (he looked a lot like Anton so I'm assuming they're related). The mood was really light and it was a pretty short set, but they played some new stuff that I had heard at Bottom of the Hill and one song that was pretty unfamiliar, but lovely. Very In Rainbows-y. Solid set as always. I talked to Ryan for a minute after the show and he said he thinks he's in this phase of writing prettier songs. I told him I thought the band's sound was maturing, and he said he felt like that was true. I like the prettiness of these new songs, and he said he does too. So I hope the pretty songs keep coming.


Audrye Sessions

The Trophy Fire was up next. There were only three dudes in the band, and they all looked like they could be related. The music was good, not really something I would listen to for a whole album, but definitely good for a song or two at a time. We were enjoying ourselves in the crowd for sure.



The Trophy Fire

The Soft White Sixties started setting up and you could sense that the crowd was getting excited for them. We tried to get towards the front but it was pretty crowded. They played a lot of songs that they haven't yet released, and they were awesome. There's something so retro and soul-ish about their music, something that I don't hear a lot in most bands' influences. I love it. They finished their set and you could tell they wanted to play more, and the crowd didn't want them to go, so they sort of had a mini-conference and then they came back and did a cover of "Instant Karma." I got really excited because a) I love that song a lot and b) White Rabbits did a cover of the same song at the show we saw on my birthday, so it felt kind of like a personal gift. I sang along and everyone was into it and it was an awesome way for them to end their set.



The Soft White Sixties

While Manatee was setting up I found the Soft White Sixties' bassist and told him that they really needed to release an album, and he assured me that they were working on it. Deja vu, because we sort of had the same conversation in November, but oh well. Then he told me I could steal a poster of theirs from the wall and I did. Then I went on to pull one off of the bar and one off of the door to the ladies' room for Britt and Danielle. They were being all shy about it so I just ran up and ripped them down. Reminded me of taking the Live 105 sign at Not So Silent Night last year.
Manatee was up next and I'm bummed to say that I wasn't paying a lot of attention to their set. Britt made the comment that each of their songs is completely different from the one before it, which I guess I could agree with. I did enjoy the set, I just didn't really soak it in the way I normally would.



Manatee

When they finished we hung around for a little while as the DJ started going all dance music-y and the black lights got more intense. People ran down from the bar upstairs. It was a weird kind of party.
Blake's is kind of a strange venue, and all ages shows always have a different vibe than 21+ shows do, but I enjoyed it a lot. I also enjoyed the fact that Berkeley is SO much closer now. It's a little crazy.


JÓNSI.
Amoeba on Haight.
4/17/10.

I walked to this show from my flat (I WALKED TO THIS SHOW FROM MY FLAT). I just strolled right through Golden Gate Park and there it was, in all its Record Store Day glory: Amoeba Records.
I got there around 2 and the show started at 2:30. There were already a pretty good amount of people milling in front of the stage, so I found a spot in the fourth aisle down and tried to save Kirsten and Zack some space (they didn't end up getting there until just after the show ended, so that was unnecessary).
Everyone in the crowd was so friendly. I think it's a comment on the kind of people who are drawn to Jónsi's music, maybe, or maybe its a comment on the kind of people who would go to Record Store Day, or maybe it's a comment on the kind of people who live in San Francisco and frequent Amoeba. Maybe it's a combination of all of those factors. Anyway, people were really chatty and it was quite lovely. The group to my left said they had seen Jónsi the two previous nights, at both the Berkeley and the San Francisco performances. Whoa.
I definitely feel like it was a score to get to see him perform for free, especially when his shows were like $30 at least, but I HAVE heard that they're really amazing, like they have these really intricate sets that do a good bit to enhance the whole experience. If Sigur Rós comes to town someday, I'll probably shell out to see them. But it wasn't in the stars for this week.
The set felt really short, and the fact that I was standing in the CH-DE rock section of Amoeba, with an Amoeba employee standing right next to the stage trying to spot people who were breaking the rules by using the flash on their cameras or taking videos, sending intel into his walkee talkee like some hotshot cop, made it a little hard to immerse myself in the music. Add to that a severe lack of sleep, and the fact that I was REALLY hungry. I just wasn't in the best space to really appreciate the experience.
But even under those circumstances, the music was beautiful. He played with three other members, all of them on acoustic instruments. Jónsi himself was super cute and bubbly, jumping all around and talking in his little Icelandic accent. He thanked us a bunch and seemed really overwhelmed by the size and positive reaction of the crowd. When they finished their set and left the crowd demanded an encore, and when they came back on stage he goes, "Thank you. I was not... expecting... this... so we have not prepared anything, but we can play... one more song." It was so endearing.



Jónsi

I should have bought the record because it was only $13.95 and I could've gotten it signed, but the line was SO LONG. Also, I didn't realize it was so affordable; I just assumed the vinyl would be at least $20. Ah, well. I'll get it eventually.
"Boy Lilikoi" was probably my favorite song of the set, but they were all very simply beautiful and expansive and emotional. With Sigur Rós there are songs that I hear and think, 'I could die to this song' (I've been told that's really morbid and not at all a good recommendation for a song, but I think it's a compliment). Jónsi's solo stuff is a little more light and playful, but with that same sort of soft build that really grabs you in the pit of your stomach.
I feel super lucky to have gotten to see him for free, and I'll try to check him out the next time he comes into the city. He's probably playing right about now at Coachella. As is Thom Yorke. Oh god I can't think about this.
Ha ha, I'm listening to Soundcheck right now and Aaron Axelson just dedicated this [Gorillaz] song to his "fellow Coachella orphans" who were left behind. "It's like me and the janitor here in the studio," he said. I feel your pain, Aaron!
Seriously though, good stuff, San Francisco. Tomorrow is Manchester's own Band of Skulls. I wanna see them in the light of the morning!

My Poor, Bored Eardrums

Darlings, I'm positively wilting from my recent lack of live music experiences.
There are reasons, I can tell you, for the barren weeks that have passed, leaving my eardrums unscathed and un-titillated.
Mainly, I AM NOW LIVING IN SAN FRANCISCO! The past few weeks have been an insane whirling mass of things to do, boxes to pack and then unpack, jobs to find, and life to sort out. But now I'm in San Francisco and believe me, the live music opportunities are pretty much endless here. So basically, prepare for the jump into hyper mode. I have some serious show-going to take care of, now that I'm in the city that spurred my love for live music in the first place (Bottom of the Hill, I'm looking at you).
It breaks my heart a little that Coachella doesn't lie in my immediate future this year, but from a practical perspective it just didn't make sense. Lucky for me, about half of the bands I wanted to see at Coachella are making a point of stopping by this fair and foggy city on their way to Indio.
Which is awesome, but also painful. Tonight, for example, The Dead Weather are playing at The Fillmore. And tomorrow night. And I am not going to either show. Jónsi of Sigur Rós is playing in Berkeley tonight. I am not going. Passion Pit, MGMT, and Portugal.The Man have all made pit stops over the past week. BAH HUMBUG. I'm being practical, spacing it out, planning my time and money as responsibly as I can.
I got some insider information, too.
Mainly, Mr. Jónsi of Sigur Rós is NOT ONLY playing two shows in a row, but on Saturday, which happens to be RECORD STORE DAY (is it planned on this weekend deliberately as a kind of parting gift for those of us who couldn't go to Coachella? Side note: when I was little and watched Wheel of Fortune with my Grandma, I always thought Pat Sajak was saying "Party Gift" and I pictured things like Pin the Tail on the Donkey kits and those ugly cone hats with the uncomfortable strings that go around your chin, and I thought how cheap the Wheel of Fortune people must be to give their contestants such lame ass gifts), he is playing a FREE IN STORE CONCERT at Amoeba on Haight St. Free music? Yes please! In the Haight? Even better. Oh, and I can WALK to Amoeba in about 20 minutes, taking a shortcut through Golden Gate Park? Um, okay. This is my life?
I hope Jónsi's not too emotionally distraught about the volcano in his homeland to play, though. Poor Iceland is going through some rough times.
Anyway, look forward to some new posts over the next few days. Friday I've got a show in Berkeley, Saturday is the Record Store Day extravaganza, and Monday is Band of Skulls (!). SWEET.
In the meantime, I think tomorrow I'll wander through the city looking for Jack White. Hopefully my hair is red enough that he would actually be willing to let me have his autograph. That'd be all that I needed.

Where Your Shadow Goes When You're Asleep and Each Heart Beats In Symmetry

AUDRYE SESSIONS. DAVE SMALLEN. POOR BAILEY.
Bottom of the Hill. 3/13/10.

also

AUDRYE SESSIONS. WORKER BEE. ACID TAPESTRIES.
The Crepe Place. 3/12/10


Yeah, I saw Audrye Sessions two nights in a row. Which pretty much equals bliss for me. Seriously, watching my favorite live band two nights in a row, without even needing to make a long drive out of it (obviously the Crepe Place is close, and I was going to San Francisco on Saturday anyway) equates to a great weekend, no matter what. I bought the ticket to Bottom of the Hill way before they announced the Crepe Place show - and what a bill, with Dave Smallen and Poor Bailey too. I mean, that is some solid Bay Area talent right there. So yeah, I was looking forward to that one for a while.

I'm gonna say this: sonically, the Bottom of the Hill show kicked the Crepe Place's ass. Experientially, the Crepe Place beat SF.

We got to the Crepe Place in the middle of the first band's set. I guess that was Acid Tapestries. The lead singer's voice was kind of annoying so Danielle and I basically ignored the music and observed the weird black and white Godzilla rip off movie that was playing above the bar. The members of Audrye Sessions were already there, chilling on the other end of the bar, so I went over to say hi and tell them how happy I was that they were playing in Santa Cruz. Ryan, the lead singer, was so friendly and sincere. I think the thing about most of their shows in the Bay is that they're sort of surrounded by their friends and it's hard to get a chance to say more than, "awesome show!" This show gave me the opportunity to really talk to them.
The second band, Worker Bee, was better than the first, but I honestly don't remember much about them. I think they're local, so that's cool.
When they finished their set, we sidled up to the front and stood right in front of the microphone. The Crepe Place is so weird because there's no stage, so if you're in the front row you're really right up in the musicians' grills. But I was actually pretty stoked about that this time.
They started with a bunch of new stuff, Ryan on the keyboard. The other thing is that they're back to their old drummer Alex, who was their drummer back when I first saw them years ago. Oh the mystery - what happened to James?
Ryan took up the guitar and they played some more new ones, including "Hands Full," which just hits me so hard. I love it.
They were sort of disorganized and arguing over what to play. I really liked that atmosphere. It was so relaxed. At one point you could see them discussing which songs to play and Alicia was looking unhappy. Ryan's like, "Alicia's pissed at me. She's always pissed at me." Finally they decided on "Where You'll Find Me," and Ryan's all, "does anyone know what this song's about?" and I was like, "Well, there are a bunch of Beatles references." He asked if I knew what references, so I said, "'The Fool on the Hill' and the Walrus," and he goes, "and 'the girl's eyes will blow your mind,' and I was like, "yeah. 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.'" He said he was impressed, and Mike goes, "Sounds like someone's been reading Wikipedia". They played it but his mic got turned down or something so it was sort of hard to hear. Then they did "Turn Me Off," which they said they hadn't rehearsed, but it sounded good. And we badgered them to play more, so they did this slow one with Mike on piano and Ryan singing, no drums or bass at all. Alicia was like, "don't play that! It's boring!" Ryan said, "Alicia doesn't want us to play this one, but her boyfriend wrote the lyrics, so you'd think she'd be like, 'Yeah! This song's awesome!'" The boyfriend to whom he was referring was Scott of Poor Bailey, who is a pretty amazing lyricist. It's funny to know that he wrote the lyrics, because I can't imagine him singing the song the same way.
Anyway they finished their set (it went so fast!) and I ran to the restroom. Mike was standing in line for the men's room when I came out so I just told him what a great show it was and he was very gracious. Kristain told him I hadn't found the lyrics on wikipedia, and he was like, "Yeah, I know. That stuff's not even on Wikipedia." Ryan came over and was really sweet and inclusive. I told them how long I've loved their music. I was probably gushing. Eh, well. What are you gonna do?
Kristain decided she wanted another beer so we sat at the bar for a little while. Ryan came over to us and was hanging out with us while the rest of the band loaded up in the van to leave, I guess, because they started honking. Ryan's like, "What do you think that means?" and I said, "I bet it means, 'Ryan get your ass in the van before we leave without you,'" and he seemed to think I was right because he dashed off.
I looooved getting the chance to talk to the band, and hear so much new stuff, and it just felt like everything aligned perfectly. Seriously, the Crepe Place is quickly becoming my new favorite venue.




Audrye Sessions
The Crepe Place


BOTTOM OF THE HILL.

I got to the venue right at the end of Poor Bailey's set. I was disappointed to miss them, but oh well. Ryan and Mike were both playing as a part of his band, it seemed.
Then Dave started setting up. He played a pretty familiar set, and it was really enjoyable because the crowd was so into it and a bunch of people were singing along and everyone "sha la la" -ed to "I Think It's Getting Better." Dave was in top form, saying how he was sharing the stage with a bunch of his best friends, and that he felt like he knew everyone in the audience. The backup band was the same as the one from his album release back in November, I think. They called themselves "The Serious Commitments." Cute.
Audrye Sessions followed with a set that was almost exact to the one from the Crepe Place, with the added quality of a real venue's sound equipment, a cellist, trombone player, trumpet player, and Scott from Poor Bailey noodling on various instruments. They sounded amazing and I just can't get over the fact that they are always developing into something better than they were. They were really good three years ago. They're maturing into a more interesting sound, though. It seems like there's more collaboration going on.
I basically can't wait until they release something new.
The crowd was totally electric and it was clear that I'm not the only one who gets how wonderful they are. We all clapped along to "Turn Me Off" and demanded an encore (the same slow song that Mike and Ryan played last at the Crepe Place). Before the encore they finished with a song called "Bad Day" ("about a bad day," Ryan said), and the crazy thing about that song is that it starts out really quiet and slow and sad and then swells into this expansive, melodic force. It's something to witness, trust me.
After the show I went over to say hi to Dave, and after awhile I found Ryan and got to chat with him for a minute. I so admire them for doing what they love, and for doing it well, and for knowing who they are. It shows in their music and in their live shows. I hope it never diminishes. I don't see how it could.



Dave Smallen and the Serious Commitments
Bottom of the Hill





Audrye Sessions
Bottom of the Hill

I Never Felt Gray, Even On A Rainy Day

DAVE SMALLEN. KEVIN SECONDS. KEPI GHOULIE. GREG ATTONITO.
The Crepe Place. 02/21/10.

Like I said before, someone at The Crepe Place is kicking some major music booking ass. How excited was I that Dave Smallen was dropping by our little town by the sea? Pretty excited, because I have travelled up to San Francisco and the East Bay a time or two to see him, and it was SO nice to just have to go a few freeway exits to see him perform.
I really wanted to help fill the place up, and a bunch of friends did come, because they are awesome and also because they knew the Bouncing Souls, so the incentive was doubled. Kirsten even drove down from Union City, which was most certainly a barge. I'm glad she did because no one can quote Arrested Development with me quite like my old roomie.
Dave was first and as soon as he got up to do his set I grabbed Danielle and Brittany and we went up front. It was pretty early and not very packed and we were definitely the only ones in the audience who were familiar with his songs. I decided almost right away that I was just gonna rock out with it, because you can only worry about people judging you for so long. He was singing the upbeat songs, too, so I was not just gonna stand there with my arms across my chest, nodding my head with the beat. He played this song, which is lovely. Kristain came up and joined us and we were all really enjoying it. I sort of sang along with "With the Sky All Blue" and as he was singing Dave noticed me singing along and kind of laughed. Hey, your songs are good and they make me happy, so I'm gonna sing along. Then as his last song he did "I Think It's Getting Better," which is one of my favorite driving songs of 2009, and before he sang it he was like, "There's a little part where I'm gonna need your guys' help. It goes 'sha la la la...'" and he looked over at us and was like, "I think maybe you guys know it already," and Kristain goes, "Yup. Seen you once or twice before, no big deal" in her funny Kristain way. We sang along and it seemed like by the second round of sha la la's some of the people at the bar and in the audience were singing along too. That song just makes me smile!

As the next guys went on I hung back with my friends and talked to Dave for a minute. It was cool to chat because I really have so much respect for him and that whole group of Oakland musicians who basically introduced me to how great live shows can be (so long ago...). I also told him that "America" was really meaningful to me and how grateful I was for it. He said he wrote it in 2006, and I think my response was "that sounds right." What I meant was that 2006 was the year that I started to get really angry about the way this country was headed, and it was also the year that I really started paying attention to what it meant to be American - the good things and the bad. Some of that probably has to do with the fact that I went abroad in 2006 and spent the last four months of the year learning about what Europeans thought of Americans. But anyway, I was incredibly grateful to get to talk to him a little bit about his music and just to let him know that it really means something to people. I mentioned that I thought it was great that he's done as much as he has so far and he said that with the record industry on its way to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean everything is pretty unstable for musicians right now. "But I'll always do it," he said, and I could totally relate because it's how I feel about writing: it's not what I do, it's who I am, and if there were no more publishing companies on the entire planet I would still be writing. That's how I relate to it, anyway.

The third band came on and they were pretty entertaining. Kristain wanted to dance so we went up and enjoyed the music. They went a little bit country towards the end, but we appreciated the Smurfs references (they had a song called "Hair of Gold, Skin of Blue").

The last band had the frontman from the Smurfs band playing the drums. There were two vocalists (a girl and a guy) and the girl had a really nice voice. My favorite things that happened while they were singing were: Lindsley singing along to their songs, and when they did a really nifty cover of "Livin' On A Prayer," a song that I love with little to no apology.

We finished up the night at Saturn Café, which is always a good decision when it's almost midnight on a Sunday. Most excellent night, I'd say.







Dave Smallen







Kepi Ghoulie

I Been Drinking To My Own Health Again

Jason Boesel (with Dawes as backing band). Cory Chisel and His Wandering Sons. Dawes.
The Crepe Place. 2/5/10.

The Crepe Place is kicking some major music-booking ass right now. Par exemplum: Jason Boesel, aka the drummer of Rilo Kiley and member of Conor Oberst's Mystic Valley Band, shows up with these two other excellent bands and they rock the night away.
I mean, I knew of all of these people before seeing them. They were all really fun live. Clearly Dawes was the main draw for most people, but I like the folksy-country twang of Cory Chisel, who is more interesting in person than on his album, and I like Jason Boesel's songs. None of these bands were really earth shattering, but they're all talented and they were having fun and that always rubs off on the crowd.
For Dawes' last song David Rawlings showed up and jumped on stage. I guess he'd played a show at the Catalyst earlier and headed over to the Crepe Place afterwards because he's friends with Jason Boesel and the dudes from Dawes. Actually I was standing right next to him in the crowd for awhile and didn't even realize it. Crazy.
At the end of the night I decided to ask Jason if I could take a picture with him. He was super sweet about it and we talked for a few minutes about his solo stuff and Outside Lands. And then he asked me if I had change for a twenty and I only had eighteen dollars, so he's like, "that's good enough," and I said, "are you sure? I feel like I'm robbing you," and he goes, "no, because you're really helping me out right now and I'm really grateful." So clearly we're now best friends. I have to admit that my aim, at first, was to use him to get to Conor and Jenny (I even tried to look over his shoulder to see if he was texting Conor at one point - I'm such a goddam stalker), but after chatting with him I sort of love him now. So yes, it'd be awesome if he told Jenny she should take me vintage shopping with her, and told Conor that he and I were soulmates. But I'm also just fine with the fact that he gave me two dollars and took a lovely picture with me. That's enough. I won't be greedy in these harsh economic times.





Clearly we are in love.







Cory Chisel and His Wandering Sons


Young The Giant (The Jakes). I the Mighty.
The Catalyst Atrium.

I the Mighty is not my kind of music. There. I said it.
This show was the day after Salinger died so I ordered a rum and coke in Holden's honor and tried to pick out the phonies. Everyone was a phony.
The artists formerly known as The Jakes (now known as Young the Giant) played and it was good. I mean, their music is very likable, and what's-his-face the lead singer has a nice voice, so they are enjoyable. I don't think I'll ever be obsessed with their music, but when they roll into town you gotta take advantage, ya know?
It was a pretty mellow show except that there was this crazy old homeless man who was clearly stoned out of his mind and he started stripping and everyone could see his tanned and tattooed old man body and that wasn't the greatest. At first it was kind of funny, but then...
All in all, this was a fun but pretty uneventful show.







Young the Giant







Young the Giant with Crazy Stoner Dude