just enjoy the show

I got home from work several hours ago and though I'm not certain, I think someone may have slipped me a mickey. I fell asleep on the couch but didn't even realize it. I was awake one minute and asleep the next, apparently. I don't even remember closing my eyes. It's like the whole thing never happened, like two hours of my life have gone inexplicably missing. I'm very disturbed by this.

Moving on. There's no reason we can't talk about last Wednesday. I was urged to check out the Hotel Cafe Tour, featuring an artist named Thao Nguyen and several other female folk rocksters. I enjoy the lady voice and it was raining so I went for it.

When I arrived this Emily Wells was playing. In addition to the ukulele she also plays a mean violin (seriously the violin is an asshole), so she seems to be a master of the small stringed instrument.



This is Lenka. She's a nice Australian. She deserves a better picture than this.


She sang to "live like you're dying." I disagree with that. If I were to do that I'd spend my days shaking and probably coughing. I choose to live like I am living!

Thao Nguyen, just paying some guitar.


The whole gang out on stage for the last song. That mandolin-guitar hybrid is an abomination.


Really enjoyable show. I've since tried to listen to some of the artists' recorded music but sometimes when you hear live music first the recordings don't hold up, making the experience rather ephemeral.

Friday, Andy's birthday. Harrison Ford would have been happy.

(because snacks)

An old friend named Rachel was there. I haven't seen her in some time. She was my homecoming date my senior year of high school. I just remembered that I was going to look for a picture to scan in but now I'm too lazy. Okay hang on if I can find it easily I'll do it.

Ah, here it is. I've mostly cropped out Rachel out of respect for her privacy.

I remember when that picture was taken. I was imagining what my life would be like in ten years. AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I IMAGINED!

Friday night I was double-booked so I didn't stay at Andy's very long. I left, had a passing encounter with the Leaf Lady, and saw the new James Bond movie. Daniel Craig is so steely.

Saturday, boring day at work. The monotony was broken by this. All these people decided to go for a walk at the exact same time! Wild.




Saturday night, Lisa's birthday. As far as people go, Lisa is like the best one. I don't have any pictures of this event but I did see cameras there. So someone has pictures. That's comforting.

Then I went to a mixer and learned that if someone says "I wouldn't even know where to begin!" It's best not to press the issue.

end.

you forgot rule number 12 of vampire hunting

I had a three day weekend, if you don't count that I worked on Saturday. My weekend was literally packed with action! Thursday night I broke from work just as the sun made it's slow creep down the western sky o'er the lone prairie. The last rays of light shone through the watchtower of the Grand America. What a grand swath of land this is.

Thursday night I did something, but I have no idea what it was. I could take a look at my notes but that feels like cheating. Whatever I did I'm sure it was grand.

Friday morning. What's this?


I donned my poker attire and made my way to a friendly high stakes game of Puerto Rican Rubdown.

Okay you got me. That's not really me playing poker, that's me acting. I was involved in a film shoot for a dramatic poker video. My character's name was "Bryton." He was a successful internet card sharp just now making the leap into the live game. As you can tell from the picture, he's a total bad ass.

Everyone had a good luck card protector thing. Mine was this little car. I fidgeted with it as though it were a computer mouse. Acting.


Good times. Big thx to Bryan for has gib me joerb.

Poker!


Friday night Iris (new Microsuede character) and I went to the Urban Lounge to see a band called the Black Angels. After the show we got our picture taken with the singer.


Saturday night I went back to The Bud after a long exile. Scotty's Halloween collection has multiplied ten fold. The new centerpiece is this screaming radioactive mummy.


From supernatural to supernaturally delicious. Look at this bun. Look at it! Is it not the finest bun you have ever seen? It's flawless. Like Lake Placid on a still autumn day.



"Hey B., do you want to a show tonight? It's this French woma-"

"Yes."

The band is called Yelle. French electro dancy synth music.


"Solt Lek Seetee! Ahhhhh yeu rea-dy teu dahnz?"

Fortunately we were. That's probably why most of us were there.


This girl Julie. She's got stage presence. I think she has a crush on me too.


Oh wait, I've lost track of the where she went. Can someone help me out here?


Ah, thanks Mr. Alien Hands.

tilly and the wall

I'll get to my Independence Day weekend later. Stop pressuring me! I'm gonna back it up a bit to last Wednesday's Tilly and the Wall concert at Kilby. This occasion is interesting because it was the second of four times I would bump into Damian in a week's time.

I'd heard good things about this band but I wasn't too familiar with their music. After seeing this performance on Letterman I had to see them live. They have a tap dancer for pete's sake!



She's the first tap dancer to play Kilby since Sammy Davis Jr. back in 1953.

It's like this show was designed just for me. Nice bright colored lights, three cute ladies, and an ape playing the tambourine (not pictured).

They're an ensemble, but if I had to guess I'd say that Tilly #2 was in charge.

Tilly #1 tap dances. She's the happiest woman in show business.



Tilly #3 and I spent some quality time together waiting in line for the haunted bathroom. She was nice. She laughed at my joke.

I can't decide if this is a good picture or not.

Great show! I'd like to see them again soon. Preferably at a venue with a stage.

is it supposed to be a noun or a verb?

I got a new camera recently. Maybe two months ago. Right after I got back from Chicago. Did you even notice? I did a lot of research and got an older model that's praised for it's ability to take low light shots. Those are practically the only type of shots I take. Concerts, outdoor signs, parties. I hate using a flash. Not only does it look terrible, with the burning white skin and the scary red eyes, but I want to take pictures discreetly. Nothing ruins a party (and I mean nothing) like some jerk with a flash. And it's weird to take pictures of your food if you're using a flash too. Draws unwanted attention. What the hell is my point here...

Oh! New camera, good at low light shots. I'm not so sure about it. For one thing, the interface is slightly awkward. I guess I can get used to that over time. But I'm not so sure the shots are that much better than my old camera. I've been meaning to take both cameras out for a side by side comparison, but I am lazy. Here's a pseudo comparison though.



The left side was taken Friday night. The right side was taken last fall. Looks like the new one can capture violet, which most cameras can't do, but otherwise the temperature is a little too cold.

And you know (don't you?) how I love my blurry streaky light shots. Not as easy to do with the new one. I'm happy with this though.

The reason I was at Bar Deluxe this time was the same as last time, oddly enough. I was there to see the band F*** the Informer, featuring a couple of my old friends. Whenever I go to their shows it's like a high school reunion.

Opening was a local band Dubbed.

(camera phone picture)

Tell me that isn't the most precise mohawk you've ever seen. These guys weren't half bad, and Johnny Mohawk was an affable fellow.

There was a tense moment when some guy said "Hey, watch this shit. Don't let anyone take this shit," and then disappeared. I watched that shit like a hawk, and no one took anything. No one even expressed interest in it.

Here's a ska band from some sleepy little town called Mexico City. Nino Zombi!

They were fun. You can't really tell from the picture but whenever the trumpeteer wasn't trumpeting he was playing his trumpet like a guitar.

Here's my dudes, F*** the Informer. The drummer is an old friend of mine but I don't see him very often. The singer I probably haven't really talked to since Jr. High. I think we went trick or treating together once. Maybe 6th Grade?

Good times.

can i borrow your belt?

Friday. Game 6 in this epic Jazz/Lakers series. For the event I grilled my now famous B-Burgers (or Bryton Burgers d'Especiale). They were a hit.



Jazz game. Homecourt, fighting to stay alive in the post-season. Surely an easy win for our boys, forcing a decisive game seven. I predicted that we would explode out of the gate, going on a quick 12-0 run before the Lakers even scored.

Well not quite. The Jazz played like they were asleep and went into the half nineteen points down.

Some guys still had the fire though.

Millsap!

Seemed over when were down by eleven with a minute and a half left, but somehow we clawed our way back to pull as close as two points down. After a long foul-filled thirty seconds, the Jazz had possession, down by three, with only seconds remaining. Three point specialist Kyle "the Haircut" Korver got the ball, had a clear shot, but passed it. Two agonizing unsuccessful three point attempts later, and the season was over. Bummer. Also it felt like a metaphor for my wasted life.

Saturday, see previous entry.

That night I watched Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. It wasn't as bad as I'd heard, but it wasn't really necessary either. I really would have preferred to see what happened after the series ended instead of seeing what happened before it started.

From what I gather the original cut was five hours long and did have scenes set after the last episode. Oft-rumored director's cut DVDs never materialize though. Drag.

Sunday! More life wasting. Finally near the end of the day I accomplished something. Headed down to the Depot to see M.I.A. in concert.

Opening it up were the old school beats of the Egyptian Lover. He's been doing this for twenty-five years, and he will not let you forget it.

I enjoyed the skull-rattling bass, but I started to lose interest after about five minutes.

But somehow he found a way to renew my interest.

Trying some stuff out in photoshop. Trying to go for a James Bond opening credits vibe.

Maybe blue is better.

I worried that this might be too suggestive for the blog, so I whipped up a more family friendly version.

M.I.A.'s show started with a video of this weird Asian politician guy. If anyone knows who he is please tell because I'd like to do more research. I think the message of the video is that you shouldn't bother to vote.

M.I.A. didn't fake the funk.

Since we arrived before everyone else we had a great spot up front, but as the show went on I was edged out by sweaty shirtless hippies. Ah well. It was too hot up there anyway. Gatsby will have better pictures on his blog, eventually.

At one point she invited the entire audience up and stage to dance around like idiots. Then after the song ended it was all "get off the stage! everyone off! you're ruining everything!"

DJ

The end.

After the show this girl was preaching the merits of positive energy, and how we can use all this energy to create anything we want. We can use this energy to further the cause of peace. She insisted she was completely sober.

Here she is telling me that I spend too much time worrying about the brake lights up ahead. Also she's 28, just like me, which is important for the cosmic side of things.

She might have been crazy, but I still think I'll take out a "missed connections" ad on craigslist .

Pegleg Sullivan

Before I get to my disastrous weekend, let's wrap up the Chicago weekend. I mentioned that the impetus for this trip was to see the Edward Hopper exhibit. Sunday morning I cabbed down to the museum, and I wished I'd have gotten up a little earlier and walked. So much Chicago to see on the way there.

It was a ticketed affair and I had to wait in line longer than I had expected. The place was full of big dumb people and big loud families and I was worried that they were going to ruin everything for me. I'm very particular about my art viewing.

The Hopper exhibit was great, though very crowded. It had an effect on me I wasn't ready for. Seeing his work in person gave me a sinking feeling. Loneliness, isolation, anonymity. I guess that's what he was going for. His works are much more disturbing in person. For example, I always thought Chop Suey was just two ladies having a nice lunch. But in person you can see that the woman has heavy bags under her eyes, and that she's staring blankly off into the distance, not even looking at her dining companion.

Pictures weren't allowed but I snuck one anyway. Now I feel bad because what, the rules don't apply to me?



Surprisingly, these two ended up being my favorite. "Automat" and "Western Motel."

This was the final painting in the exhibit, and one of the last of his career. Of it he said "I am chasing Me." Sums up his body of work nicely I think.

Let's see what else this museum has to offer.

I like taking pictures of statues.

Is this beautiful or what? It was sculpted in the 1850s which kind of surprised me because it looks so contemporary.

I like old timey mapps.

Looks like the girl from Arcade Fire, right?

Hey! It's these guys.

This is my second favorite American Gothic, behind this guy I know Jimmy.

Van Gogh's bedroom. It makes me sad that he has his own paintings on the wall.

I've never seen this before, I really liked it. It's by some guy and it's called... something.

I left the museum and found myself caught in the middle of a protest!

Luckily it was a quiet riot and nobody was hurt.

Biting political satire. I'm sure it changed a lot of peoples minds.

Sightseeing? This is the Water Tower, the only structure from before the Great Fire that still stands. It's hard to photograph.

Tradition holds that the fire was started by Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicking over a lantern. This has been disproven, but other theories are more interesting anyway. One is that it was started when ol' Pegleg Sullivan tried to steal milk out of a barn. Another theory is that it was started by a meteor shower.

I had my trip all planned out and then decided to see if there were any cool shows that weekend. As it happens my favorite band was playing, along with up-and-comers Okkervil River at the Riviera Theater.

I fell in love with a girl at the show. She seemed to be designed to my exact specifications. And she held my spot while I went to get drinks. And when I stepped on her foot she said "That's okay!" and when I asked her if Okkervil River played the song "Black" she said "I'm not sure I missed the first fifteen minutes" and I said "Me too." Wow, it's just like in the movies. We exchanged furtive glances throughout the show and after it ended I tried to follow her out (not in a creepy way) but with a forlorn look backwards she vanished forever into the night.

Great show though. The New Pornographers were without co-singer Neko Case (ankle injury) but they still rocked it. I've seen them three times now and this might be the most energetic show I've been to (though other reviews have called it lackluster, so either those other reviewers are jaded or I'm just too much of a superfan apologist. probably somewhere in between).

They played a song called "Stacked Crooked" which they've never played live before this tour. That was awesome. If you've heard the song, you'll agree that this picture represents it well.

After this I found out the hard way that picture takin' isn't allowed at the Riviera. Whoops.

I was loitering about after the show, trying to decide what to do with my life. Members of both bands came walking by and went into this place. Problem! With them was comedian Todd Barry. I'm really not a fan of his work. Like, at all. What's worse, he was with a super cute woman a foot taller than him and way out of his league. And he was hanging with my band. Mr. Barry, you are now number 1 on my arch-nemesis list.

Then I was standing in front of this place and a girl came out to smoke and tried to convince me to join her inside for some jazz music or something. She was really cool, but she spit too much.

I finally ended up at a place called Club Foot. This bar was waaaay cool but unfortunately it was completely dead. The four people there were very friendly though, and there was this one dude who had had major brain surgery only a few days before.

Club Foot has the Elvisiest bathroom I've ever seen.

The walls are lined with toys, not unlike my living room. Check it out, Castle Greyskull.

Time for more walkin'. In front of the Tribune Building is a statue of the guy that said "Give me liberty or give me death!" or it might be the guy that said "I regret that I have but one life to give to my country." I always get those guys confused. I also don't know what he has to do with the Tribune. If only I had some way of finding out. Some sort of internet resource perhaps.

Michigan Avenue, near the Chicago River.

The river.

The cold and lonely streets.

Well, guess that pretty much covers it.