Without a Yard

Ugh. No point in back blogging this week - it’s a cauchemar. Despite the nasty sickness that is still hanging on, managed to visit the ’shoe twice (Detroit’s pride - the Dirtbombs & returning from SXSW triumphantly the Coast - both brilliant shows in their own garage-rock-melodic-Pixies-meets-the-Clash & epic-radio-friendly-indie-rock kinda ways, respectively & being carded was icing on the cake), a sweet low-key movie night with a happy patio ending, a long-awaited MeetUp, & far, far too many late nights/early mornings. This whole being sick thing brings out the stubborn bastard in me - I probably went out more than usual as an act of defiance. Smart, I know.

Off to the east side today for brunch & window shopping (we’ll see how that goes…). Soundtrack in two parts:

FTP Link - SundayMixPartOne
FTP Link - SundayMixPartTwo

Playlist
Night Of The Lotus Eaters - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
Baltimore - Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
Don’t Play That Song - Aretha Franklin - Live At The Fillmore West
What Was Going Through My Head - Grapes of Wrath - Now & Again
Sea Legs - The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
Sorry Signs On Cash Machines - Mason Jennings - Century Spring
Imaginary Friends - Nada Surf - MDR Sputnik Acoustic
Let’s Dance - M. Ward - Transfiguration of Vincent
Nueva York - The Coast - Expatriate
Bodysnatchers - Radiohead - Live Thumbs Down webcast
Your Lips Are Red - St Vincent - Live
She Turns It Up To 10 - Ryan Adams - Live
Bedroom Dancing - Le Tigre - Bedroom Dancing
Waltz - Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
I Could Have Done This Myself - Lightspeed Champion - Falling Of The Lavender Bridge
Springtime In New York - Jonathan Richman - Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow
The Pilgriming Vine - Basia Bulat - Live on Radio K
Sea of Rum - White Rabbits - Daytrotter Session

It’s this many (*blog awkwardly mangles up three fingers*)

wow.

So April ‘05. Right. Started on MySpace to keep up with long-d friends after I moved back from here (well, that was beautiful Shiner & not ATX-proper…I wanted to go all St. Olaf on you) & was screwed up in that special way only a neurotic 24 year old can be & somehow ended up working at this ridiculously fauxhemian retail outlet & navel-gazed all spring/summer until luckily I groveled my way into a decent-paying, mentally-stimulating, geek-friendly, non-photocopying-circle-of-hell internship. & most importantly, in April ‘05, I saw Arcade Fire at the Danforth Music Hall with openers Final Fantasy (who covered Mariah’s gorgeous ‘Fantasy’) & Wolf Parade for the 1st time - now vividly remembering rushing out between sets to buy their EP…wise purchase

THEN. I actually had to work at that internship thing, at times longing for a xerox-monkey type position. But by April ‘06 we traveled here, and here & were planning to go here. Lots of the photos are in drinking establishments, so it’s kinda tough to tell the difference per trip. I get pudgier as intake of meat on sticks & spring rolls & goat cheese pouches takes its toll. Most importantly in April ‘06, I saw Flaming Freaking Lips rock the Phoenix - from the balcony eyeball-to-discoball and they delivered a blistering version of Sabbath’s War Pigs. There should be a special southwest club sandwich recipe in there, too. Bookmark that $#it.

AND THEN, well, yeah April ‘07 rolled around about 365-or-so days later. I wrote ridiculously long & infrequent posts. sorry! I gushed about bjork & rufus & feist. Harump, not much has changed since ‘07 - except lifestyle and location and homeownership and the grody miscellany of unmentionables. wow. So April ‘08. Right.

So yeah - 5 days later….it’s a blur. Jens last night was transcendental. I’ve seen Final Fantasy with Stephanie Comilang’s beautiful intricate complimentary projections before - but at the Great Hall - it was just divine. Peeps swooned, yo. And the brilliant banter cascaded off Lekman’s lips with his adorable Swedish accent. Le sigh. Wish I had a better camera. Check out Frank’s amazing photos here for an upclose experience. We got our sit on in the balcony for the entire show.

ANYWAY. This week’s ponderables that have fueled some wild IMs/emails - Does Nada Surf get better & better with every show? Yes. Is seeing an act 5ish times within the span a month a bad thing? If the act is Jens Lekman - no. Running in a charity run with even the teeniest-tiniest hangover - great idea? Sadly, no. What ever happened to bros before hos? To Be Determined. When is the absolute best time for a Japanese hipster stuck in Saudia Arabia to visit Toronto? Whittle it down to the most music-filled long-weekend possible. Movie/TV quote of the week? As much as I’d like to find some Arrested Development zinger…but considering the past coupla days, I’m going with old faithful: “Oh, face it, you just hate every single guy on the face of the earth.” “That’s not true. I just hate all these extroverted, obnoxious, pseudo-bohemian losers.” Things that make you go hmm.

okay. g’night
meegs

Tonight was my first chance to see Dirty Projectors headline a show.
In a word - phenominal. I think about my gushy Vampire Weekend post
and try to rank this show….it's in the St Vincent range for
sure….if VW are the jaunty poppy scrubbed clean Duke Ellingtonians
of the syncopated african influenced indie scene, then DPs are the
messed up complex non-linear free form re-interpretive Thelonius
Monks.
The richness of the two guitars arpeggiating on some of the melodies
boggles the mind. During the last song of the set, their version fo
Black Flag's 'Rise Above', the drum chugged along, bass steadied the
song, two guitars trickled over a complex progression and three
beautiful voices melded - creating this thick warm sound as
cacaphonious but comforting as being lulled to sleep on a noisy train,
and integrating the high pitched whistles into the content of your
dreams.
No pics to upload….no photos taken at all, at least no flashes -
which was nice. + I've never seen so many local artists come out for a
small show by 'foreigners' since I've moved back - which speaks to the
calibre of musicianship in the DPs, IMHO.
OK. TTYL. TTFN.
G'night
Peace
Meegs

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