I had the pleasure of attending a show with Juan last night.
We haven’t been to one together in a while..
Grizzly Bear at The Pabst.
A show, he told me during, was “one of those bucket list shows” for him.
They put on a great one.
The voices.
The lights.
The music.
The crowd that was clearly musically driven.
I guess I only say that because I went with my musician brother who knew a bunch of other musicians there.
When I say “a bunch” I mean the guy from The Danglers, and the guy who sat next to me that made a bunch of the mics and amps for the band.
When I say “made” I mean he’s an electrical engineer and like, made ’em.
Juan kept telling me that he was “royalty.”
Musicians, right?
Oh! And Owen Pallet opened for them.
Remember when I posted his Mariah Carey cover?
The stuff he’s doing now is a lot darker.. Which I liked.
He seemed a lot darker, too.
Kind of a dick, actually.
My brother told me to give him a little slack ’cause he’s Canadian.
Canada always seems to be trying to fuck my world.
A few weeks ago I went to see Tegan and Sara at the same venue.
So cute, they. (also canadian.. not at all trying to fuck my world)
(video from montreal.. but my favorite song performance of the night in milwaukee)
For Grizzly, it was general admission.
Juan and I got there early, as adults do.
We scouted the best seats in the house..
Close, but not too close..
And ones that allowed for us to remain seated, even when those in front of us were standing.
For T & S, I had 3rd floor seats.
At The Pabst, the third floor is a treacherous place for those with height issues.
You walk out onto the balcony, and it’s all you can do to not think about careening over the side.
My friend Cory and I spent the entire opening act with two seats empty next to us.
Right as Tegan and Sara went on, a man came to scout them out with his phone.
He shuffled off..
By the third song, he came back with a woman..
I didn’t notice right away, but she was pulling herself along the railing behind the seats.
She sort of.. wedged herself into her seat, coat still on, white-knuckling(i can only assume) one arm rest.
Her face pointed at the back of her seat.
And there she stayed.
For the entire show.
To be honest, it was super distracting.
Did the height make her ill?
Was it just fear?
Was this her husband, or a new relationship with a man who knew nothing of her phobia?
Were these tickets a gift?
Did she buy the tickets without realizing what kind of terror party it was going to be?
Why didn’t she just listen to the show from the first floor?
I couldn’t stop with the questions.
Not to mention that a friend of mine just happened to be sitting in the row in front of me..
We had been texting on and off.
Me: I CAN SEE YOU.
She: Keep looking. Take it alllllll in.
Me: This woman next to us won’t take any of it in.
She: What the fuck is happening up there?
(pause for show)
She: That lady was dead asleep. On the end.
Me: No, ma’am. Not dead asleep. She basically grappled her way to her seat, and paralyzed with fear, refused to look down The. Entire. Time.
She: The one that was all swaddled in her jacket? That’s so much better than just being asleep. I was fine with the seats but the floor there felt a little like ‘the wonder spot’.
Accurate.
There was also a bit of commentary on the fact that the audience was basically all lesbians that looked like Justin Bieber.
It’s like they were wearing a uniform.
Interesting.
There were no Justin Bieber lesbians at the Grizzly show. That I saw, anyway.
But there was a woman who resembled this lady.
My brother couldn’t stop making the mosh gesture, and I couldn’t stop asking him to do it.
He probably makes me laugh more than anyone I’ve ever met.
Maybe it’s because he’s been trying to do so since I was born.
He knows exactly how.
He says it’s because I’m stupid, and easy to amuse.
Which also makes me laugh.
(because it’s pretty accurate as well)
This morning, I spent some of the time that I was supposed to be at work trying to buy tickets to Lollapalooza.
I haven’t wanted to go to that festival in.. Ever. I never ever wanted to go.
I think that probably stems from being a fatty, not wanting to walk anywhere, and/or be seen by anyone.
I also don’t remember being this enamored with the lineup.
The National, The Postal Service, Haim, Mumford and Sons, The Cure, Cat Power, Lana Del Rey, Hot Chip, Imagine Dragons, Crystal Castles, Band of Horses.. Grizzly Bear, and Tegan and Sara.. I would want to see Nine Inch Nails, had I not seen them 5 times in life already.
The list actually goes on.
Those mothereffers sold out in 20 minutes.
I did not get tickets.
I did a sad face for the majority of the day at work.
Good thing there was a salty bisque, and a couple of gambling whack-a-doos from Up North to keep my mind off of things.
Still sad about it..
Stubhub already has tickets for well above asking price.
WHICH IS NOT AT ALL WHAT I HAD PLANNED.
On a fat reduction tip…
I went to my second boxing class this evening.
WHOOWEE. Hard.
This weekend marks my first touch football league game.
I hope to document this, as it is the first time I will have ever taken part in any kind of organized sport.
We were supposed to go over “plays” and “rules” and things..
But it looks like time ran out, and I’m going in blind.
I wish to not break any of my appendages. Phalanges. Nails. Teeth.
I also attended my friend Lenore’s daughter’s second birthday party. (say that 5 times fast)
Over the last few months, I have gotten a little..
Disenchanted?
I forgot why I liked to take pictures.
Winter will do that to a person.
But capturing moments like these puts a little more perspective on things.
The weekend after, I went to a party at Lenore’s mother’s home.
Every year, per tradition, she has a St. Patrick’s Day party wherein she burns her dried up Christmas tree.
It was the first time I had attended, and the first time I had been in Elaine’s home.
I like to pretend I have a bit of a rivalry with Lenore’s mom.. When there isn’t one at all.
She’s a really neat woman. A writer, and an art collector.
There was plenty of food.. Including some sort of Satan cake that had sweetened condensed milk poured over the top of it, then caramel sauce, Cool Whip, and toffee bits.
Whoever made that was an asshole, because I couldn’t stop eating it. And now I’m trying to figure out what else I can use sweetened condensed milk on, or in.
Here is a tree on fire.
Instagram’d. (i’m trying)
Maybe?
