Category: personal

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Welcome to the, how do you say, show?

Welcome to my mid-year show review. It’s actually not quite mid year yet but I have free time right now and who knows when I’ll feel up to the task again. So here we go.

I was pretty happy with the number of shows I attended last year. I was even able to cross bands off my “must see before I die” list, the list isn’t very long so it was relatively easy to do for me. Living in Los Angeles, helps quite a bit too.

My first show of the year was actually not until February when I saw The Blow at The Echo with Julie.  Actually it was just Kaehla from The Blow, Jona was touring with Yacht at the time. Still it was a pretty high energy, feel good time and I even got to meet Kaehla.

Next was Do Make Say Think at The Troubador with Sean. That was a really relaxed show, how can you not be with DMST? This was the show where I realized one of the best places to sit at the Troub was way in the back behind the bar. Not only do you have a seat but generally it’s far back enough that you can see over everyone, with the exception of maybe unbelievably tall person.

Then South by Southwest came and it was a big “showfest” for me. I tried to take photos of each band I saw. The flickr set is here if you’d like to see.  The most notable band for me was The Faint. I’ve loved them for years and was ecstatic when I heard they were going to be playing SxSW. Of course, I have no proof  of this because my computer and camera didn’t want to talk to each other that night and deleted all the pictures from that show. I’m going to do this list style:

  •  Yacht
  • The Mae Shi
  • Ghostland Observatory
  • The Black Lips
  • Andrew Bird
  • Tokyo Police Club
  • Bloc Party
  • Apes and Androids
  • Apostle of Hustle
  • Thunderbirds Are Now!
  • De Novo Dahl (I’d never heard of them before)

from the party we threw:

  • Deep Sea Diver (really great local band from Long Beach, CA)
  • Chuck Ragan
  • This Providence
  • Limbeck
  • MC Lars
  • Brazil
  •  The Oohlas

There might have been a couple more bands that I just don’t remember or didn’t catch their names.

Upon returning, I’m not sure if this counts but, I went to a club to see Prince Paul do a DJ set. I think that sort of counts as a show.

Then Man Man at The Roxy to start April off. That was an awesome show. I’d never heard Man Man before and it was a pretty great introduction. They have so much energy. It was so fun with lots of yelling and stompyness. I’ve started listening to them regularly since that show.

The next night I went to see Dntel (the non-Gibbard half of The Postal Service) spin at The Natural History Museum. I also caught a set by The Submarines and Plaid while I was there.

The next week it was Triple Chicken Foot in Pasadena. They’re this local  twangy banjo threesome I found online. Sort of bluegrass, folky, Appalachian music. It was quite pleasant.

The week after that I saw Lavender Diamond at the Disney REDCAT theater. They played with Indian Jewelry, which I wasn’t too fond of. I think I actually took that time to take a nap. Totally disrespectful, but it really wasn’t my cup of tea. However, Lavender Diamond was so entertaining and cute. It was quite an experience, I was a little bored at times but I’m sure any Diamond fan would have been thrilled to have been there.

Art Brut at the Troub three days later. Then Sunset Rubdown and Xiu Xiu at the Troub again about three days after that. April appears to have been a busy month for me! I didn’t even realize until now.

Next on the list is one I’ve been anticipating for awhile now. Arcade Fire at The Greek. I’m hoping it will be amazing, how could it not be? But I’m trying to play it down in my head, not get too over excited for this. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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This and That

Updates, list style (because who has the time anymore?)

This:

  • new bike as of 5/19
  • new bike injuries as of 5/23
  • my iPod is officially deceased as of 5/22
  • I’ve started reading more comics (Optic Nerve, Stephen King’s Dark Tower series)

That:

  • Julie is moving to Austin, TX
  • Joss and Jeremy are moving to San Leandro, CA
  • Rachel and Randy are moving to Seattle, WA
  • Sean is moving to San Francisco, CA
  • I’m staying put and need to make new friends
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Live Through This…

and you won’t look back

There’s one thing I want to say, so I’ll be brave
You were what I wanted
I gave what I gave
I’m not sorry I met you
I’m not sorry it’s over
I’m not sorry there’s nothing to say

I’m not sorry there’s nothing to say

When ever a relationship ends I turn to the usual suspects to for comfort. My aunt, my cousin, strangers, music, and movies.

My aunt has been through everything I’ve been through but about 10 years before me. We’re undoubtedly different people, but she has experienced a lot of what I’m just now going through. I suppose it’s not so much that I turn to her for understanding and empathy but more for insight and word of what it’s like once I pass through the tunnel. She knows what’s waiting on the other side for me and has the flashlight to guide me through.

I turn to my cousin for empathy and a little bit of that Sex In The City mindset. She lives in New York, Hong Kong before that. Although she is a few years my youth (younger? Did I use that phrase correctly?) she definitely outranks me in relationship experience. This is neither depressing nor embarrassing for me. There are other parts of life in which I hold more experience. We depend on each other for different insight, especially since a lot of the time our opinions are quite varied. I still appreciate her advice and her positive attitude that sometimes I lack.

For some reason I’ve found easiest to open up to strangers when it comes to matters of the heart. They don’t have any background to judge you by and are forced to look at the situation objectively. Sometimes you learn things about strangers in this way, you get a small glimpse into a life they once had if they’re willing to open up. Advice from strangers should be taken with a grain of salt of course, there is the question of credibility and their objectivity is not good for certain situations. Plus, it’s just nice to talk to people and make a human connection with a real emotion that we all share.

Music is an obvious choice for a lot of people. I tend to make playlists of events and or periods of my life. Sometimes I will listen to the same 10 songs for a month and that will become my October 2006 playlist. When I hear those songs it takes me back to that place in my life and everything I was feeling during that time. Time capsules of music. I can’t even begin to describe the healing properties of music but I have a feeling you already know so I will just leave it at that.

A darkened theater makes for a great transportation portal. The only thing you can really see is the screens and then you’re enveloped by what’s displayed on it and what you’re hearing on the Dolby or THX surround sound. Movies are my escape. For two hours I can forget, I can be somewhere else and look at someone else’s life. It can be beautiful, exciting, insightful, confusing, mysterious, and/or hilarious. It’s a mini-vacation. There’s something to be said about going to the movies alone.

I’ve prescribed these things for myself and I’ll live through this.

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See The World

I’ve decided I want to study abroad…or study ablad, as my mom says.

I’m considering the UK, either London or Swansea in Wales, maybe American Business School in Paris or a Univ. in Melbourne, Australia. I don’t know how economically possible this would be…or possible at all. I’ve only looked at some information on the website and narrowed down countries with participating schools. I need to attend a meeting tomorrow after I get out of work.

I’m quite excited about it but I don’t know if this will be like the time I tried to plan a trip to London for Spring Break and got all the information but stopped short at buying tickets and a bed at a hostel…or if it will be like me applying to go to school up here in San Francisco and actually moving from Los Angeles.

I think that moving up here has led me to believe that no matter where I end up I will have fun and survive. Hopefully that is the case. I’ve been thinking about pulling out my roots and floating into the wind a lot lately…to New York mostly. I don’t know why I feel this way. Was it watching a Felicity marathon on Sunday night that made me feel this way? Perhaps it was the feeling which urged me to put the DVD in and watch the story of another girl’s trek across the country. Maybe I’m searching for something. I guess San Francisco was my first baby step. What I’m searching for I really don’t know…so how will I know when I find it? I guess it’s like they say, “When you know you’ll know.” I keep telling people I’m trying to find myself…but I don’t really know what in myself is missing.

At this point I can only think of one thing that is missing and that is the love I have lost. I think that was my anchor and now that the rope has been severed my boat floats freely and will travel…but every boat must dock somewhere.

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Rhapsody in Blue

Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue has this weird affect on me. It makes me feel nostalgic and think back on the days when I was young. It reminds me of the cool tile of my parent’s master bathroom. It makes me think of lazy Saturdays.

Or family vacations, like the one we took to Hawaii when I was too young to remember anything except buying one of those pearl oysters from the sidewalk stands. I had the pearl put onto a whale’s tale necklace for good luck. I remember being really sad when I lost it in the shower. I think it went down the drain. Just the pearl, not the whole necklace.

The strange thing is that I can’t remember why Rhapsody in Blue would evoke these memories. I really like the feeling it brings, which may be why I’ve had it stuck in my head for the past week. It’s just…odd.

I know they have airline commercials featuring this song nowadays. Did they used to? Can anyone remember if Delta used it? My mom and I used to fly Delta all the time. I was in the airline kids club. I’d get the newsletter from Dusty the aviator Lion. I had special meals when I flew. I got the little Delta wings pin.

It’s a good feeling. I sound like rain man. Yeah, I like it. Good feeling. It’s good.