Being able to witness a show of that scale - from both a performance & an audience perspective - was overwhelming in just about the best way possible. I'm not familiar with concerts that are as much spectacle as they are powerhouses of performance, and that's probably why I found it unbelievably attractive.
Generally, this is not my type of music. But what I've gleaned from listening to that lady is: a.) she makes a catchy-ass tune and b.) she seems to be a legitimate artist. Take it or leave it, she made what she's become up to this point and clearly it's working out for her. I wanted to catch a performance of an ambitious artist climbing without looking up for a ceiling, and damned if I didn't get just that.
Add that I'd forgotten what often comes with it - legions of fans hypnotized by that kind of peculiarly alluring originality - and it made the icing on tonight's bloody, hairy, pointy, throaty, obtuse, lipstick-laden cake.
SO many people there. Parents walking with their pre-teens, giddy underneath their makeup and loud clothes as they prepared for their first concert (those are some of the most awesome/misinformed parents ever). Friends singing verses between merchandise tables, hanging on one-another and laughing. Crowds of complete strangers excitedly taking photographs of each other's costumes while simultaneously complimenting the hell out of them.
It's what I envision a Thriller-era Michael Jackson concert must have been like; everybody was their own varying degree of mental, and the energy was palpable.
After the opening band (see previous post) and intermission ended, I experienced possibly the loudest sea of cheers I've ever heard (which was - in all likelihood - related to the high ratio of women attending).
Of course, many songs were played. Theatrics were interlaced between every few while other breaks allowed for what appeared to be genuine personal banter from the hostess. I appreciated her message, which bordered on outright begging/demanding everyone simply respect themselves and listen to what they felt was right and good vs. what every media outlet tells them to (you may remember Fiona Apple made a similar, less successful attempt years ago with her "This world is bullshit!" rant - this one was more articulate).
She played her own instruments, sometimes while (quite effectively) using her boots. She belts like a mofo, and can hoarsely scream anything she wants to as far as I'm concerned.
Yeah, I'd buy that remix album.
Again, this stuff is usually not my cup of tea. But good music is good music regardless of genre, and I'm a firm believer that if you get the chance to witness someone who not only has talent but revels in sharing/testing its limits, you're doing yourself a great disservice in making excuses to avoid it.
I may never see another show like that again, and I'll sure as hell never forget it.
Time to sleep. Seriously, I haven't had a solid night's rest in maybe a week.
31 August, 2010
"Real Rock & Roll"
A lot of girls are becoming women during the opening act.
Concurrently, many moms are at a significant turning point in being parents.
"Minnesota! WHAT! THE! F*#K!!!!"
Concurrently, many moms are at a significant turning point in being parents.
"Minnesota! WHAT! THE! F*#K!!!!"
30 August, 2010
29 August, 2010
DEAL?? Or...no..deal.
My hatred for said gameshow is unjustified, if only by my inability to consider its title beforehand. Honestly.
TERROR
I hate to admit it but I witnessed the makings of a terrible dream tonight, and all I did was order a sammich from a subway restaraunt (after waiting in line for McDonald’s). Worth a story, but I ain't telling it.
28 August, 2010
making Utah the victor
It's safe to say we've witnessed a variety of landscapes on this trip so far, and appropriately the best scenery has also provided the worst signal.
Mormon Country is quite gorgeous.
Denvermolorado
Mostly overcast in CO with scattered showers. There's a warm front coming I'm from the west which should alleviate some of the precipitation we've been experiencing, but mostly you should expect high amounts of mountains for the next five or so hours
27 August, 2010
Fancy crashings
Arrived in Denver a little bit ago and am currently enjoying Not Sitting.
I've included this pic to show off our digs. "But Matt," you might ask, "what kind of hotel has hard wood floors in their bathroom?"
"Good question," I'd reply, "because I don't know. That's contact paper."
And here we are.
...
........braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssssssskaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.......
False advertising
It should have been named 'Nebraaaaaaaaaaaaskaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa' 'cause this place is damned long.
"Tiny pissed off a gypsy guys."
It seems there's a curse on truckers today as we've already encountered three serious accidents (all post-action) including:
-a completely overturned semi, like a turtle on its back
-the rear of a two-towered car transport off the highway, cars practically sideways
-a semi leaning over the edge of the highway, center caved in with its contents spewed across the grass.
I'm hoping Nebraska proves curse-proof (mostly)
Trivia time
We're about 90 miles shy of conquering Iowa, then we enter Nebrasky.
Can you guess its capital without searching?
Hint: "Hello, Mr. President."
Re: last post
See? See what I mean??
side note: I know you know what I mean, I just thought this thing could use more pictures.
The thick of it
When driving through Iowa your best line of defense is punk music, and lots of it.
Check.
Laid back
So far I've been introduced to DJ Quik (funny stuff) & seen a car drive itself.
Ain't even noon yet. Holla.
Well shucks
Not two minutes away from my apartment and I already realize I will be drastically under dressed.
For Las Vegas.
Strike one against that place.
26 August, 2010
Periodically
Periodically I dream about my dad.
These are always realistic dreams - never abstractions.
Without exception I get to hug him and can savor every moment we interact.
This makes waking up the tiniest bit easier.
These are always realistic dreams - never abstractions.
Without exception I get to hug him and can savor every moment we interact.
This makes waking up the tiniest bit easier.
22 August, 2010
Scant recollections
Being that it's been a long time since this trip (and plenty more is going on) I may as well do us both a favor and summarize a bit more.
We left the campsite early on, both starving and a little exhausted. Seeing as I couldn't find my stash of emergency snack bars under that sea of hastily packed equipment behind us we headed back to town for breakfast before carrying onward towards a known sweet spot in the Gallatin.
The time to fish is now.
What followed was a refreshing workout which my legs have rarely had as I battled (at times) waist deep currents between shores. Also, before heading out I slathered on a good amount of SPF-something due to my determination in seeing how my skin would fare from a day of upper-torso exposure to the sun (which if you know me is as rare an occurrence as any).
It turns out it responds pretty good, at least when those areas are actually covered. To this day I have an imprint on my left shoulder revealing where I prematurely declared, "All good!" and tossed the bottle back into the car.
Did I catch anything? Yes. Anything worth explaining? Nope.
But what was caught does technically qualify as 'fish' so all said and done I still felt as though I'd accomplished something.
After many hours walking the rivers and meeting one gigantic dog (seriously - have you ever seen The Sandlot?) my friend and I returned to the city for what is now unequivocally the best burger I have ever tasted. So good it literally made a vegetarian reevaluate their life choice.
Yes, as far as I am concerned Ted Turner can colorize anything he sees fit just so long as I can continue devouring his livestock.
From what I recall the rest of the evening was quite low key as we were pretty well wiped by that point.
*Addendum: we got back in time enough for Casey to make his intramural soccer game: what a flashback that was.
I gathered my hat and lawn chair then sat upon the sidelines watching with an indifference to the outcome as any sport I've ever witnessed.
I was, however, hypnotized by the experience of being part of such a team...not since grade school had I played soccer but it all came rushing back as I watched both segments (they call them that, right?) play out. I made a vow right then and there - as tired of the sun as I'd ever been - that next season I'd be a part of such a thing myself.
Of course, whether this culminates into anything is really anyone's guess; after all, I'm one fickle individual.
As the game ended and we arrived at his car, I heard my now pooped pal utter a sound of shock I wish I'd been more prepared for: looking up from the door handle I followed his bugged out eyes to the sight of a dismantled fly rod threaded through the rack atop his vehicle: apparently when unpacking the car earlier he neglected to put these items away. Miraculously, every crucial piece was still there, miles from where he'd originally placed them.
I believe they refer to that as 'the luck of the Norwegians'. He must - or at least does now - pray to the fjords like a mofo.
They do that, right?
We left the campsite early on, both starving and a little exhausted. Seeing as I couldn't find my stash of emergency snack bars under that sea of hastily packed equipment behind us we headed back to town for breakfast before carrying onward towards a known sweet spot in the Gallatin.
The time to fish is now.
What followed was a refreshing workout which my legs have rarely had as I battled (at times) waist deep currents between shores. Also, before heading out I slathered on a good amount of SPF-something due to my determination in seeing how my skin would fare from a day of upper-torso exposure to the sun (which if you know me is as rare an occurrence as any).
It turns out it responds pretty good, at least when those areas are actually covered. To this day I have an imprint on my left shoulder revealing where I prematurely declared, "All good!" and tossed the bottle back into the car.
Did I catch anything? Yes. Anything worth explaining? Nope.
But what was caught does technically qualify as 'fish' so all said and done I still felt as though I'd accomplished something.
After many hours walking the rivers and meeting one gigantic dog (seriously - have you ever seen The Sandlot?) my friend and I returned to the city for what is now unequivocally the best burger I have ever tasted. So good it literally made a vegetarian reevaluate their life choice.
Yes, as far as I am concerned Ted Turner can colorize anything he sees fit just so long as I can continue devouring his livestock.
From what I recall the rest of the evening was quite low key as we were pretty well wiped by that point.
*Addendum: we got back in time enough for Casey to make his intramural soccer game: what a flashback that was.
I gathered my hat and lawn chair then sat upon the sidelines watching with an indifference to the outcome as any sport I've ever witnessed.
I was, however, hypnotized by the experience of being part of such a team...not since grade school had I played soccer but it all came rushing back as I watched both segments (they call them that, right?) play out. I made a vow right then and there - as tired of the sun as I'd ever been - that next season I'd be a part of such a thing myself.
Of course, whether this culminates into anything is really anyone's guess; after all, I'm one fickle individual.
As the game ended and we arrived at his car, I heard my now pooped pal utter a sound of shock I wish I'd been more prepared for: looking up from the door handle I followed his bugged out eyes to the sight of a dismantled fly rod threaded through the rack atop his vehicle: apparently when unpacking the car earlier he neglected to put these items away. Miraculously, every crucial piece was still there, miles from where he'd originally placed them.
I believe they refer to that as 'the luck of the Norwegians'. He must - or at least does now - pray to the fjords like a mofo.
They do that, right?
05 August, 2010
mornin'
up,
and i'm up.
it's hard to rest in a good position when you're lying on the ground. this one's good enough tho.
hope i haven't spent too long like this. i do not want to ache all day.
how's my head? seems o.k. it's pretty bright out, i wonder what time it is.
good thing the sun hasn't reached over to my side of the tent yet.
maybe i should get up. go get some water. yeah water sounds pretty good right now. go sit on a log with my jug of water and watch the canoes pass by. maybe catch a train or two.
gotta be quiet tho. so damn hard to do exiting a sleeping bag inside of a tent. there's maybe ten obnoxious sounds i can make just trying to get to the zipper on the door. well.
let's do this to this.
oh wow that's noisy.
just go - no point in stopping now. why are these zippers so prone to snagging? why have that little flap there anyway? friggin' columbia. they know what they're doing don't they. the designer must have enjoyed the week following that add-on...'hey guys, did you see this little part here? i know, no one did. gonna make it to production. gonna be awesome.'
friggin' guys working at columbia.
yep it's bright out all right.
oop
weird how my back seems to sieze up like those adjustable pliers my dad used to have, like if you don't clamp 'em correctly they'll just lock up 'til you do it right. at least i've still got an adjustable back.
wait are those pelicans?
if i've ever seen a picture of a pelican in my life then that is them out there on the river.
how about that. pelicans.
whiter than i'd have thought.
man is this nice. but too much sun i'd say. how bad do i look after yesterday anyway...
huh. nice work. take that, nature.
try and give me cancer.
i bet we learn suntan lotion does a hell of a job of doing the same thing some day too though. that'd be about right.
if nature don't get you, the scientists will.
ooooh yeaaah. man if water don't beat all. at least there's no car alarm on this thing. heh.
ah - the rv
still around
me too
cheers to that.
and he's up. mornin'. only slept decent in the daylight eh, too bad.
what's that?
oh sorry.
i guess i could have laid off the 'we're going to die tonight' jokes.
and thanks for not making a bigger deal about the bears/rattlesnakes while we're at it.
alright. you go not catch fish in that river again, and i'm gonna sit in this chair appreciating the majesty of my surroundings along with 'the red headed stranger'.
oh my god do i love that album.
everything's about right, right about now.
and i'm up.
it's hard to rest in a good position when you're lying on the ground. this one's good enough tho.
hope i haven't spent too long like this. i do not want to ache all day.
how's my head? seems o.k. it's pretty bright out, i wonder what time it is.
good thing the sun hasn't reached over to my side of the tent yet.
maybe i should get up. go get some water. yeah water sounds pretty good right now. go sit on a log with my jug of water and watch the canoes pass by. maybe catch a train or two.
gotta be quiet tho. so damn hard to do exiting a sleeping bag inside of a tent. there's maybe ten obnoxious sounds i can make just trying to get to the zipper on the door. well.
let's do this to this.
oh wow that's noisy.
just go - no point in stopping now. why are these zippers so prone to snagging? why have that little flap there anyway? friggin' columbia. they know what they're doing don't they. the designer must have enjoyed the week following that add-on...'hey guys, did you see this little part here? i know, no one did. gonna make it to production. gonna be awesome.'
friggin' guys working at columbia.
yep it's bright out all right.
oop
weird how my back seems to sieze up like those adjustable pliers my dad used to have, like if you don't clamp 'em correctly they'll just lock up 'til you do it right. at least i've still got an adjustable back.
wait are those pelicans?
if i've ever seen a picture of a pelican in my life then that is them out there on the river.
how about that. pelicans.
whiter than i'd have thought.
man is this nice. but too much sun i'd say. how bad do i look after yesterday anyway...
huh. nice work. take that, nature.
try and give me cancer.
i bet we learn suntan lotion does a hell of a job of doing the same thing some day too though. that'd be about right.
if nature don't get you, the scientists will.
ooooh yeaaah. man if water don't beat all. at least there's no car alarm on this thing. heh.
ah - the rv
still around
me too
cheers to that.
and he's up. mornin'. only slept decent in the daylight eh, too bad.
what's that?
oh sorry.
i guess i could have laid off the 'we're going to die tonight' jokes.
and thanks for not making a bigger deal about the bears/rattlesnakes while we're at it.
alright. you go not catch fish in that river again, and i'm gonna sit in this chair appreciating the majesty of my surroundings along with 'the red headed stranger'.
oh my god do i love that album.
everything's about right, right about now.
01 August, 2010
Things that are not worth $5
Back to the apartment, my friend and I went about packing for some outdoor escapades. This shouldn't have been too taxing as everything I could need was either stored in my car or next to my airbed, and his vehicle is generally prepared for such outings at any given moment. But since I was fishing, you see, I simply had to unpack (and subsequently assemble) my own rod purchased (and subsequently neglected) several summers prior. I believe there's a pic/post further back of this very procedure.
We stopped by a food store to get essentials (I bought a can of jerky chew) then headed out along the river.
The weather was warm as the sun was out, even if clouds eclipsed it from time to time. What didn't bode well was the presence of violent winds at our chosen campsite. Well, saying that was our 'chosen' campsite is misleading; after the third or fourth gust of dirt/sand mixture ripped across our faces we decided to settle on such things after a lazy river float. And because neither of us are men of (much) logical action, we inflated our huge inner tubes then and there before driving to the starting point.
It turns out our wind issues were more or less isolated to where we'd stopped as once that drift down the river began the rest of the day saw nary a breeze. Though inexplicably, what I'd expected to be a three hour float finished in about half that time.
Short or no, the following hour and a half proved pretty amusing: it started as we approached the river to the sight of an unmanned inner tube floating downstream, coupled with the distinct sound of a disappointed kid thrashing through shallow water.
Maybe I should have gotten that runaway tube for the kid.
And maybe he shouldn't have let it go in the first place.
Sometimes what seems like inconsideration is really just helping a boy become a man.
After a bit the clouds dispersed and my friend, myself and the tethered net of beers behind us basked in a blue sky of sunlight bordered by an incredible mountain range ahead. Every now and again we'd gravitate towards the edges of the river and someone would get up to drag everything back to the center of things. This became more frequent the further we went along - go figure.
Miraculously I never capsized...I like to believe I have a solid center of gravity.
It was now time to find a good campsite and get settled. In no time flat the tent was set, fishing rods were assembled (his) and Deschutes brews were cracked (mine). Again, I could not have asked for a better scenario.
Then those two vehicles pulled up.
On the nearby dirt path an old, tan RV followed by the quintessential "My First Car" coupe pulled over and a 19-or-so fella exits the RV, dressed in modern skater apparel ('skater' in a clothing-fad rather than lifestyle sense, if you follow me). What appears to be his girlfriend stays in the car behind. Friendly enough, he asked if I knew of any campsites further up the road, and if they were available. I told him I didn't know, but figured as much. He looked up the road a bit, then casually mentioned if there weren't any lots left if we'd mind sharing our site with them. He would cover the cost of the lot for the inconvenience, of course.
He seemed decent and I saw no reason to turn them away so I said sure. Plus, there was no reason to believe all other lots would be taken on a Monday night anyway. I went back to my site and he back to the black car tailing him to discuss things (I guess).
Five or so minutes later he comes back (from their vehicles - no sign that they'd put either in D during that time) and said that all the sites seemed taken. I figure what the hell and tell them to pull in and make themselves comfortable. Again, I go back about my business.
A little later I head over to where they'd been and find his RV parked in front of our car, but the black coupe (along with the couple) were nowhere to be seen.
Huh.
I shrug it off and head over to my friend who, while fishing most of that time, was aware of the circumstances up to that point. I mention the current situation, and he looks long and hard at the seemingly vacant RV. He then asks me if I've seen the show Breaking Bad. Good point.
The rest of the evening was a mixture of mac & cheese, dares to climb on Ted Turner's private property and inventing hilarious scenarios wherein we both met our demise due by the myriad things that tattered, towering house-on-wheels might harbor.
By nightfall I stopped caring (besides my phone had accrued photos of their license plate in case my corpse went missing) and my friend and I hit the proverbial hay under a sky nearly consumed with stars. Seriously; I had forgotten what the milky way had looked like (or really that it had even existed). Yes, that overhead display has since ruined any and all future mid-night bathroom breaks for me - you just can't top relieving yourself under Mother Nature's night light.
Next: Who survived?
We stopped by a food store to get essentials (I bought a can of jerky chew) then headed out along the river.
The weather was warm as the sun was out, even if clouds eclipsed it from time to time. What didn't bode well was the presence of violent winds at our chosen campsite. Well, saying that was our 'chosen' campsite is misleading; after the third or fourth gust of dirt/sand mixture ripped across our faces we decided to settle on such things after a lazy river float. And because neither of us are men of (much) logical action, we inflated our huge inner tubes then and there before driving to the starting point.
It turns out our wind issues were more or less isolated to where we'd stopped as once that drift down the river began the rest of the day saw nary a breeze. Though inexplicably, what I'd expected to be a three hour float finished in about half that time.
Short or no, the following hour and a half proved pretty amusing: it started as we approached the river to the sight of an unmanned inner tube floating downstream, coupled with the distinct sound of a disappointed kid thrashing through shallow water.
Maybe I should have gotten that runaway tube for the kid.
And maybe he shouldn't have let it go in the first place.
Sometimes what seems like inconsideration is really just helping a boy become a man.
After a bit the clouds dispersed and my friend, myself and the tethered net of beers behind us basked in a blue sky of sunlight bordered by an incredible mountain range ahead. Every now and again we'd gravitate towards the edges of the river and someone would get up to drag everything back to the center of things. This became more frequent the further we went along - go figure.
Miraculously I never capsized...I like to believe I have a solid center of gravity.
It was now time to find a good campsite and get settled. In no time flat the tent was set, fishing rods were assembled (his) and Deschutes brews were cracked (mine). Again, I could not have asked for a better scenario.
Then those two vehicles pulled up.
On the nearby dirt path an old, tan RV followed by the quintessential "My First Car" coupe pulled over and a 19-or-so fella exits the RV, dressed in modern skater apparel ('skater' in a clothing-fad rather than lifestyle sense, if you follow me). What appears to be his girlfriend stays in the car behind. Friendly enough, he asked if I knew of any campsites further up the road, and if they were available. I told him I didn't know, but figured as much. He looked up the road a bit, then casually mentioned if there weren't any lots left if we'd mind sharing our site with them. He would cover the cost of the lot for the inconvenience, of course.
He seemed decent and I saw no reason to turn them away so I said sure. Plus, there was no reason to believe all other lots would be taken on a Monday night anyway. I went back to my site and he back to the black car tailing him to discuss things (I guess).
Five or so minutes later he comes back (from their vehicles - no sign that they'd put either in D during that time) and said that all the sites seemed taken. I figure what the hell and tell them to pull in and make themselves comfortable. Again, I go back about my business.
A little later I head over to where they'd been and find his RV parked in front of our car, but the black coupe (along with the couple) were nowhere to be seen.
Huh.
I shrug it off and head over to my friend who, while fishing most of that time, was aware of the circumstances up to that point. I mention the current situation, and he looks long and hard at the seemingly vacant RV. He then asks me if I've seen the show Breaking Bad. Good point.
The rest of the evening was a mixture of mac & cheese, dares to climb on Ted Turner's private property and inventing hilarious scenarios wherein we both met our demise due by the myriad things that tattered, towering house-on-wheels might harbor.
By nightfall I stopped caring (besides my phone had accrued photos of their license plate in case my corpse went missing) and my friend and I hit the proverbial hay under a sky nearly consumed with stars. Seriously; I had forgotten what the milky way had looked like (or really that it had even existed). Yes, that overhead display has since ruined any and all future mid-night bathroom breaks for me - you just can't top relieving yourself under Mother Nature's night light.
Next: Who survived?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
