Blue Moon & Egg & Cheeses (with tomato)

Last night Shelly and I went to Kildares for their "Ms. Kildares" event. Pat Pirate's girl, Theresa, was competing so she put on us the guest list (my self-esteem just went up!). There was free Blue Moon and Coors Light from 9-11; we got there around 10. This left us with an hour to justify: 1) the 25 block walk there, 2) the atmosphere. I don't have anything against Kildares it's just not my kind of bar. The people who generally go there (20-something business school graduates with expensive shirts) are not the kinds of people I choose to surround myself with. So with that said, we drank a lot of Blue Moon in an hour. A lot. So much in fact, that when I stumbled out of bed this morning I was drunk and hungover simultaneously. You know those mornings. The problem with this was that it was 6:30 and I had to go to La Salle to give a presentation. Damn.

As I walked outside listening to music, I realized two things: the day might not be so bad, and I really needed an egg & cheese. Even as I walked through Suburban Station I was enjoying myself. Good song, positive outlook, egg & cheese. This lasted until I found myself sitting in class forty-five minutes later. Oh man. I was no longer stoked on the day. I will say this though, egg & cheeses (with tomato) from the Lunch Truck remain the tastiest mother fucking egg & cheeses (with tomato) in this city.

I'm wearing a Sonic Youth T shirt with a flannel today. Think I'll listen to some Alice & Chains when I get home.

Playlist:
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead...
Mission of Burma - ONoffON

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!

One defining aspect of spring/summer made itself prevalent today; the weekly newspapers began featuring full-page adds of outdoor shows. This week PW has a huge Morrissey advertisement. I saw him once...he changed his shirt three times during the show. That day definitely was not like Sunday.

Yesterday Shelly took off work and I skipped my internship. We took the R8 to Chestnut Hill and went hiking along Forbidden Drive. If you haven't done this yet, I highly recommend it. We walked for about 10 miles through the woods. It was a beautiful warm day and there weren't a lot of people out. Perfect day. When you're out there you feel like you're on the Appalachian Trail. It's amazing that, technically, you're still in this dirty, dirty city.

What's up with Modest Mouse tickets being $36?

Playlist:
Do Make Say Think
Hot Water Music - Caution
Avail

Handshake Drugs

The weather has made the past three days beautiful. Although it's sleeting out as I type this entry and I was wearing my winter jacket during my classes this morning, I've been wearing T shirts lately. Strange NE weather. Last night I had this feeling of excitement for the summer. I hate the heat more than any one, but there's always something charming about summer. With hockey playoffs a few weeks away and spring training underway, I'm pretty excited. Speaking of hockey playoffs, it's always interesting to compare the conferences in the final weeks. Like usual, the standings in the east will most likely be determined in the final days of the season. It's been so close. Contrary to the what NESN might be saying, the Bruins are out of the race. They may have two more games to play than most teams but they won't be able to make up the points. The west on the other hand is not so close. I think Colorado is at least 10 points out, in ninth place. Western teams have so much talent that when the playoffs come most of their games are decided by one goal and go into seven games. As a result, when one gets to the finals they're too worn out to compete with the east. I'm would really love to see Pittsburgh win it all. Mario did a great job saving them again and keeping them in the city. Realistically though, I think Buffalo will indeed take it all. Either way I'm so freakin' excited.

Playlist:
Jawbreaker - Dear You
Wilco - A Ghost is Born
Built to Spill - all

ISIS @ the TLA

Last night I attended the Isis gig at the TLA. Because I always end up going to their shows solo, I aimed to make it in time for the second (of three) bands, skipping the opener, and delaying the awkwardness of being around metal heads. The band I was aiming for was Torche. I saw them for the first time last summer when they opened for Mogwai and, stoned out of my mind, I felt like I was seeing the heaviest band in the history of music. Last night I was dead sober and I had a similar experience. It's not that they have a lot of chugga-chugga breakdowns or they paint their faces like Norwegian satanists or anything, their sound is just so thick and layered. Also, when the drummer uses double-bass he further emphasizes the sound by riding his first and floor toms, which are well-mic'ed at that. If I had to compare them to other bands/sounds I would probably say the doom atmosphere of Black Sabbath's Master of Reality, the layers of SunnO))) and the heavy heavy complexity of Botch. Right on. Anyways, as I was handing the door man my ticket they were literally striking their first chords.

After Torche came Isis. I was impressed that even after reaching the level of popularity that they have, they still set up their own equipment and everything. This made for a quick segue into the music with no lame delay to get the crows psyched like most bands do. The music was phenomenal. They opened with "Wrists of Kings" and went on to play(including the encore,) 8 songs in 1 1/2 hours, pretty much without breaks between songs. That equates to about 11 1/2 minutes per song. I might have miscounted and it was 9 songs, but you get the hint. You need an attention span for this shit. It was great. They also played "Not in Rivers, But in Drops," "So Did We," "Holy Tears," and amazingly "False Light." SoooOOOoooo Heavy. For an encore they played "Celestial" too. Everyone was so stoked.

The TLA was pretty filled up, especially considering that Jesu didn't end up playing as expected. You could tell that their tour with Tool won them some shithead fans though. I was standing behind a group of four kids who wouldn't stop talking about test presses and limited edition vinyl. I really don't get that stuff. The music is what's important. Why do you need limited editions of what you already have? Behind me were two kids discussing conspiracy theories between Dell, the Discovery Channel and the Catholic Church (that was when I put my ear plugs in.) Once the show got underway though, three scenesters kept making fun of and instigating a kid next to them because he was wearing a Rage Against the Machine shirt. Okay, so he's not as 'with it' as they are. Maybe they've seen Isis more than he has and been into them for longer. But when did this become some exclusive club? Oh, excuse me, it always has been. Jerkoffs like that have been around at every show in every state I've ever been. It's such a shame. They just weren't letting him enjoy the show and it was a real bummer. I remember reading an interview with Isis' frontman Aaron Turner recently and he was discussing how unfortunate it is that with the growing popularity of a band like his, comes idiot fans who ruin things. I remember seeing them at the Church last Autumn and a kid who, obviously isn't there to enjoy the music and instead to 'mosh,' was creating a scene and the overbearing Turner said some pretty aggressive stuff to the kid. It shut him up but it won't stop it across the board. I've read interviews with Kurt Cobain talking about meatheads coming to Nirvana shows when they got big. People just don't get it. It's like the girl standing in the back of a Bane show text-messaging. Are you listening to the lyrics, douchebag? Anyways, I won't let that get in the way of appreciating a great performance.

On the walk home a 40-something year old man in a car kept following me calling me sexy and whistling at me. At first I thought he was just messing around with me until he really started to creep me out. He wanted me to get in his car and to go somewhere. He was dead serious. I hate people.

Playlist:

Minus the Bear

EITS

Alright I am dying to go to the Explosions in the Sky show at the Starlight Ballroom next Sunday. I really didn't think that it would sell out as quickly as it did. Does any one know anybody who has one or two extra tickets? Please let me know. And if I ever run into the prick who's selling one ticket for $100 on craigslist, i'm going to hurt him.

Oh yeah, Spoon @ the Starlight Ballroom, April 22!

1117

It's official, I have "vacation syndrome." This morning my alarm went off at 8:30 and well, I could have gotten up then. I was tired but only in the "I just woke up" way. There was no "I'm tired because I got four hours of sleep"-exhaustion that the cats seem to be victims of after their eight-hour long naps. Instead I said "fuck it," turned the alarm off and slept for another hour and a half. "It's my last day of vacation," I murmured to myself as I dozed back off to dreams of Wendy's Spicy Chicken sandwiches and Volkswagen Jettas. I can justify anything to myself. I know people who would call that a flaw, but I suspect that's the jealousy talking.

In other news, Shelly and I are officially moved into the "Penn Center House" at 19th & JFK. We would have been idiots not to take this place. Sure, it's a little more than our last place (barely) but it's bigger, has (much) more storage, free cable, as well as a dishwasher and a washer and dryer in the freakin' unit. And it's just so nice. My dad brought down some old furniture for us and the place is going to look gorgeous. First though, we must conquer the cardboard jungle of boxes that has made its way into the bedroom. The vast majority of residents here are very old and they go on walks up and down the hallways. I kid you not. It's kind of sweet, kind of strange and more like Twin Peaks.

Lightning Bolt will be touring this spring. They'll be hitting up Philly on April 25. Now two things have begun/been announced that tell me that summer is well on its way: Spring Training and a Lightning Bolt tour. Bring it on...

Oh yeah, I'm definitely going to the Isis show next Tuesday night at the TLA. Too bad all my friends suck the fuck and won't be going. Anyone else interested?

Playlist:
Fugazi - Instrument Soundtrack
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Botch - Anthology of Dead Ends

Meeting Girls

This morning Shelly and I were talking about one of the first times we spoke. We had a night class together and during the break she was sitting on the benches smoking a cigarette so I nervously approached and said hi. I was going to see the Shins that week and it was the only thing I could think of bringing up so i asked her, "Umm...do you like indie rock?" Okay, we'll stop there. "Do you like indie rock!?" If some girl came up to me and asked me if I liked indie rock i'd throw her ice cream in her face and then burp the alphabet for her. I think that was the moment I really decided that I need to think things out before I speak. I think her answer was something along the lines of, "Umm, yeah...I guess." This is the Scrubs equivalent of her throwing ice cream on me and then burping the alphabet for me. I don't know how she restrained sarcasm. If I only had that amount of self-restraint.
Check out this video of Thom Yorke talking about people "shagging" to Paranoid Android. Think about the fact that I asked Shelly if she likes indie rock and then put the video on mute. Watch the expression on Thom's face at the end. I rest my case.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksphoBLtAmk

Fucked Up

Tell me that second flyer isn't the greatest thing you've seen all week. I was reading an interview with Ted Leo about a year ago and he was discussing the punk bands that really matter. The ones that he grew up on that he still listens to today. These are the ones, he argued, that have something to be angry about (aside from mom, dad & the cops.) They know what is corrupt and they build their band against it. He mentioned bands like the almighty Flag, Stiff Little Fingers, the Clash, Bad Religion and (as a contemporary example) Tragedy. I dare add Fucked Up to that list. Every week on their blog (lookingforgold.blogspot.com) they post intriguing articles and questions, about everything from religion to science to politics. I realize that this band is getting really big right now and that they're pretty hip to be into, but how great would it be if everyone talked about the issues they bring up? Semiotics, religion, etc. To be at the bar with your friends and talk about more than girls and money issues. I'm a Catholic and I continually welcome the issues that they bring up about my religion. My faith won't change but it's great talking about it. Seriously, check out their blog on a regular basis. There's a great article they have up on top right now about slot machines. The link's on the side of my page. Oh yeah, and they're playing the Church Friday. When they play "Baiting the Public/Generation" I am going to fight people.