Freelance Whales, Tokyo Police Club in concert? Yes, don't mind if I do

My last post gave the details of a weekend that had happened a few weeks prior. This time, it's only slipping back a few days (OK, maybe more than a few, but within a week). I may actually get to the point where I'm actually timely with these things, posting right when everything's still fresh in my mind, right after they happen. And who knows, maybe I'll get to a point where I'm posting before stuff happens. (Sorry, that was a terrible attempt at a joke, in what is turning out to be a terrible attempt at a blog post.)

The weekend started off right, playing Guitar Hero and drinking with some friends. The songs got a little hazy, but I know I sang to a Santogold song, "Why Bother" by Weezer, Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People," and "ABC" by the Jackson 5, among others. The hostess made blueberry muffins, the host mixed drinks, and I brought the rest of the party. Right.

Saturday started off at an easy pace. Got up, got some lunch at Danny Edward's Boulevard Barbecue, and hung out around town. I stopped at Rainy Day Books, hoping to pick up a new Wodehouse and A Fan's Notes by Frederick Exley. Sadly, they had neither (though they are getting in some more copies of the Exley, should be in this week!). I'm sure you all wanted to know that. It was a lazy day. Had to save up my energy for the night, for I was going to see Arkells, Freelance Whales, and Tokyo Police Club!

I was most excited about Freelance Whales, a group out of Brooklyn, NY. A few months ago, some friends and I decided sort of last minute to go catch their show in Lawrence, KS, when they were playing at the Replay Lounge with Bear in Heaven and Cymbals Eat Guitars (for $3. Seriously). Obviously we needed to stop for drinks before getting to the show, so after a Tom Collins or two at Bourgeois Pig (if you're in Lawrence and like cocktails, this is the place to go), we walked to the venue. FW was already playing. Rats. We were able to see a few songs, but sadly, we missed most of it. We stuck around for Bear in Heaven (good live show), and since it was getting a little late and we're pretty much old and lame, we left before Cymbals Eat Guitars going. Yeah, we were those people, but for $3, we still got our money's worth. I did have a chance to buy a shirt and talk with Freelance Whales' front dude Judah Dadone. Super, super nice guy, seemed genuinely grateful, very friendly, and just a pleasure to talk to as a fan.

Once I saw they were going to be playing in Kansas City, at recordBar, about a mile from my place, I got excited, and knew I'd have my chance at redemption. I was going to get my ticket at my first opportunity.

I forgot. Not a problem, how many people are going to be going?

A lot.

I had a long story here, but for the sake of brevity, I deleted it. Basically, I was the last person without a ticket admitted, and it was awesome. I loaned the guy in front of me $2 because he didn't realize it was a cash-only thing, and once inside, he bought me a drink. I WIN! But, I had run into my bff Paul Shirley (another story for another time. Maybe?), and had told him I'd buy him a drink if I saw him at the show, so really, I BREAK EVEN.

The openers, Arkells, were impressive. I hadn't heard their stuff, so I didn't know what to expect, but they were kind of a power pop group, but Canadian. Not sure what the exchange rate is with them, but. . . I have nowhere to go with that one. They're good though. Very charismatic.

Up next - Freelance Whales! They played stuff from their debut album, Weathervanes, set list as follows:

• Hannah
• Location
• Starring
• Generator ^1st Floor
• Ghosting
• Kilojoules
• Generator ^ 2nd Floor

It was a good set, not too long, not too short. For me, Generator ^ 1st Floor was the highlight, with a great balance of voices on one of my favorite songs. Splendid! Hearing a new song or two would have been nice, but I'm not going to complain too much. At least I got to hear them at all. I took a second to talk to Judah again, mentioned that even though their album just came out a couple months ago, I want more stuff. He said they may record an EP this year, possibly out by November. AWESOME.

Here's the only picture I got that actually looked semi-decent. Hooray for cellphone cameras.

Yeah, not that great. But oh well.

Tokyo Police Club was up next to close down the show. I'd only really heard a few of their songs, and while I liked what I knew, I didn't know much. The boys were good at their instruments, though, and played a set of really clean, well-polished songs. I enjoyed it. They had lighting effects and everything! Lead singer Dave Monks was personable, and introduced a new song, called "Top Five," saying it was the first time they've ever performed it live. Then he added, "look for it on Youtube tomorrow." My fellow concert goers did not disappoint -

I like it. Going to have to pay closer attention to their songs, and maybe try to catch them live again. They had a tight sound, and I'm not bitter at all that these kids are all 5-6 years younger than me. Not at all.

So yeah. It was an awesome concert, I'm glad I went. I'm REALLY glad it worked out to be on a weekend night, shows starting after 10 don't really fit well into my work life.

Stars concert and stuff

Things have been going well around the life of Flenker lately. I guess I should say as well as they can go when the Hawkeyes aren't playing very well, my ceiling occasionally leaks water, and the nation headed towards an election that somehow is still so close that it makes me really nervous.

(Obligatory note: If you are the legal age to do so, please please please make sure you are registered to vote. If you're a college student away from home, make sure you change your registration site or vote absentee. If you've moved recently, update your information and find your polling place. The election is less than a month away now, so time is running thin. And please, make an educated decision, read up on the candidate's stances, and VOTE!! There will be more to come. . .)

So in spite of all of that crap, I've been doing pretty well. I've only spent one night at home in the past 2 weeks, just hanging out a friend or two, getting dinner, watching TV, going to see Michelle Obama speak, and went to see Stars!

My friend Dominique and I went to the show, hitching a ride to Lawrence with a couple of friend who were heading there to see the Dandy Warhols. The venue's website just listed a time of 7 for the concert, so I assumed that was when doors opened (especially since it was a Friday night in a college town), and thusly decided to join up with friends for dinner. We ended up getting to the Granada around 8:15, just in time to see the beginning of the second song by Stars, having totally missed BellX1. Kind of a bummer. I think this was probably the most prompt show I've ever been to. The show was excellent, though, almost all of my favorite songs were played (the only one I was hoping to hear but didn't was "The Night Starts Here," and that could have before we got there).

The place wasn't packed, but there were a lot of people there, mostly couples. Definitely glad that I went with someone, otherwise I would have been the one lonely dude there. I take that back, there was another guy there by himself. We could have been lonely together. Thankfully, I had company.

The band put on a good show, throwing roses out into the crowd between most songs (of course they would, have you heard them? They definitely fit the "melodramatic popular songs" genre listed on their myspace.) Lead singer Torquil Campbell introduced a song (one I didn't know, so I can't recall the name) as being about "fucking yourself and your lover to death." Pretty intense. Later Amy Millan cutely prefaced "My Favourite Book" as being "just a love song." There was a little talk about the presidential debate that was taking place at the same time, with Campbell saying "Obama is giving his plans for change, and McCain is scaring everyone." Good stuff.

A good time, though, with great music, in a pretty good venue. I hadn't been to the Granada for over 8 years, when I drove down from Ames to see Weezer.

Ok, I just a quick search and found the setlist for this show. And wouldn't you know it, "The Night Starts Here" was in fact the first song they played. Dammit. Here's the list:


Taken from the flickr page from the concert, found here.

So yeah, it was fun. We were out a little after 10, but our friends' concert didn't finish until nearly midnight. So Dom and I had a lot of time wandering around Mass in Lawrence. For it being Friday night before a football game, the town was freaking dead. I guess these Kansas kids don't know how to do it up like Iowans. But we still had a good time people watching.



ugh, I've spent too long on this post, and am still not completely happy with it, but oh well. I don't know what I don't like, but whatever. It'll have to do. I'll put a better effort into the next one.

This post brought to you by the band Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players, the planes of Midwest Airlines, and the letters NIN

First off, if you're a fan of Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor has made his latest album available as a free download, just go to this link:

http://theslip.nin.com/

I'm giving it my first listen-through right now, and am liking it a lot. And you can't beat the price.

This past weekend was a quick, but very fun, time spent in Minneapolis. And while my camera sucks, (not to mention I forgot to put in fresh batteries), H and Whiskey snapped off a few. Check out their blogs to see some of the action, and check out H's post at Three Pints for more about Kate Nash.

The Kate Nash show was great, I really enjoyed the opening band, the Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players. The family (dad Jason on guitar/keyboard/vocals, mom Tina on the slide projector, and 14-year-old daughter Rachel on drums) basically goes to estate sales, buy old slide photography, and write songs based around them. A lot of bands use a video aspect to their live shows to supplement their sound, (like the Faint, the previously mentioned NIN, Project Jenny, Project Jan, to name a few I've seen in concert), but this is the first instance I'm aware of where the band uses the audio and video in such an intertwined level. To get the full enjoyment out of their performance, here's a couple of their videos

Look at Me (from Conan, with a few slides removed for network TV purposes. I'm not sure if it's better or not. . . )


Don't You Know What I Mean?


Now these videos are a few years old, so Rachel is a few years older now. And Jim still didn't want me to go get her number for him.

These videos don't really do them justice, I was blown away by them, it was awesome. At first I didn't think I'd buy their schtick, but damn if they didn't win me over.

I flew (yes, flew) to Minneapolis, after finding tickets that were cheaper than it would have been for me to drive, and saved me about 13 hours driving (round trip), and a lot of wear and tear on my car. Rudy can't put up with too much more, so I gotta take it easy on him while I can, until I find a new ride. But don't tell him about that.

Anyways, I flew on Midwest Airlines. Holy crap. It was amazing. When I got on the plane for my first flight of the day (Midwest is based out of Milwaukee, so I had a stop there each way), there was classical music playing on the speakers, and (relatively) large leather seats as far as the eye could see. They were incredibly comfortable for plane seats, and even left me with a couple of inches on either side. Plus a middle armrest that was about 5 inches wide. No elbow fights with the neighbor for space! And plenty of legroom.

My favorite part, though, was getting freshly baked cookies. Not just one, but two on each flight! And on my first flight, an older lady was sitting next to me, didn't want her cookies, so she gave them to me! AND everyone got a little bag of pretzels. And drink service. C'est incroyable! I would definitely recommend this airline to anyone if it's available (and comparably priced to other airlines). Lucky for me, KC is one of their hubs. Rock.

So it was an awesome weekend, all around. Played some Wii (Mario Kart is lots and lots of fun) and some XBox 360 (NCAA Football still rules, and the new Grand Theft Auto game is kind of fun), saw a good concert (even if Kate Nash got everyone to say they hated me and I'm pretty sure called me a dickhead), at somewhere near my body weight in pizza (Old World Pizza's buffet is delicious), had some cocktails (most gin and tonics, with a free Jameson and something thrown in for good measure), had a wonderful time meeting and chatting with WhiskeyMarie (however nonsensical and incoherent it may have been), and just really enjoyed myself. If only every weekend could be so fun-filled! Now I'm waiting for visitors to come to KC. There's plenty of room, everyone's welcome! And of course, I can make the airport pick-up, so check out Midwest. It's worth it!

Jose Gonzalez, cont'd

Here's a photo and a couple of videos from last Thursday's concert. As usual around these parts, the videos were "borrowed" from others on youtube. The photo from my friend Becky's camera. It gives you a good idea of the setup, and of the douche's head that was in the way. I took this while sticking my arm in the air, to get a good shot. And the dude's head is still in the way! You see that head, near the middle of the photo? Yeah, trying looking around that for a whole concert.



And here are a few videos. The first one has pretty decent sound, but doesn't have the whole song:

Jose Gonzalez - Down the Line

This second has about a song-and-a-half, but gets kind of loud and distorted at parts, totally not indicative of the actual sound:

Jose Gonzalez - How Low

And I have to come clean. Before, I wasn't a huge fan of his. I mean, I liked his songs fine, but wouldn't really consider him to be one of my favorites. I think it's because of the multiple vocal tracks he uses on the albums. But all of the performances I'd seen, from Conan and what not, have been pretty good, so I was convinced to check out the show. And I'm really glad I did. He puts on a great show. While there wasn't a ton of interaction with the crowd, just a few words between songs here and there, it never felt like he was being cold or indifferent towards us. He was just a dude playing his guitar, keeping the show moving along at a nice pace. If you're a fan of his music in the slightest, catch him in concert if you have the chance. You won't be disappointed. I promise!

This is what happens when I feel passionately about something

Jose Gonzalez was in town last night (Thursday), at The Parish Room. I had never been to that venue before, but I'll definitely be going back. The sound was excellent, the room was a nice size, larger without losing intimacy, which worked incredibly well for the show last night.

Gonzalez played a great set, not too long, not too short, about half the songs totally solo, the other half with a "percussion section," which was made up of a girl that shook something and maybe played keyboards, and a dude that played the congas and occasionally a woodblock. I actually like him better in live performances, by far over the studio work. I like hearing just his voice, not a multi-layered effect on it. And his voice was pretty amazing last night, as was his guitar playing. The lighting was good, and the general vibe during the whole show was great. I'd write a glowing review of it, but while I was at the show, I got to thinking about things. Like, the reason that I'm not exactly sure if the girl was playing a keyboard was that there was some 6'4" dude was standing in the very front, right in front of her. Standing straight up. In the very front row. WTF? Come on! Don't do that. Which got me thinking, this is the perfect time to unfurl:

Flenker's 10 Simple Rules for Going to a Show!!!!
(small venue edition)

1. You make a better door than a widow - If you're 6'2" and above, it's ok to stand near the front. If you want to, go right ahead! But if you're in the very front, at least make some sort of effort to minimize your stature and the amount of vision blocking from less vertically gifted concert goers. Stand off to the side, maybe, or bend down, or, you could be really kind and let some shorter people in front of you. You don't have to let some 6' dude in front of you, because fuck him, he can see around you. But if there's a girl or guy that's kind of short, I'm sure you'd make their day to not have to have their noses stuck firmly near your armpits. It's just a common courtesy, man.
   
2. Don't be That couple - I've been to concerts with a girlfriend (yes, I've had a girlfriend! A couple actually! You may only need to use one hand to count them, but they're there, I promise! KP can back me up on this one.), it's a common thing to do, concerts are fun! It's totally ok to hold hands or give a quick peck on the cheeks, or maybe even real kiss! But do not, under any circumstances, let your mouth open. No tongue action. No one, I repeat no one wants to see that anywhere, let alone in a concert with hundreds of sweaty people around you, most likely a high number of them perpetually single guys (at least at the concerts I'm going to. Sad bastards abound). Especially if your girlfriend looks like Tori Spelling plus 60 pounds, give or take, and if you look kind of like you belong in that family that grows hair all over their face. And take off your stupid fucking hat. (sorry, I've been wanting to say that since the show) Also guys, don't stand in front of your girl. That's just tacky. Unless she's more than 5 inches taller than you. In which case, ummm, good for you?
3. Leave the fedora to Indiana Jones - This applies to not only fedoras, but any other wide-brimmed hat, unless it's appropriate (I'm sure there's some "You might be a redneck" joke here, but I'm above that). Not only does it block the vision of the people behind you, there's also a good chance that you look like a tool. And, it'll contain body heat, so you'll get warmer in an already hot environment. Plus, if you have to comb the hair on your face and are clinging onto your tubby girlfriend, you're gong to need all the help you can get to keep your body temperature at a life-sustaining level. Leave your hat in the car, wear it to the bars with your hipster friends so they can reassure you how awesome you look. (really, I'm just bitter that this dude had a cool hat and had the ability to grow facial hair, two things I could never pull off.)
4. The floor is not for empties - I know, the empty bottle is heavy, it's cramping your style, and you can't comfortably hold more than two bottles at a time. You don't have to. Find a table or use a trashcan to dispose of your bottle. Don't set it on the floor. Because it will invariable be kicked, and roll around, and hit my foot. Then I'll be paranoid that I'm going to step on it and break it, so I'll have to run the risk of bending down in a crowded area to pick it up. Not good times.
   
5. No smoking - I know it's, like, awesome to get stoned and stuff. Whatever. Especially in a smaller, inside venue, don't be rockin' the ganj (do kids still say that? have they ever said that?). I honestly hate the smell of it, and get a headache. You can wait another 20 minutes, or go outside or something. Just don't do it in the middle of a crowded floor. Same with cigarettes. In a crowded place, someone is getting ashed on, and someone else is getting smoke in the face.
   
6. When I'm in the pit - At some concerts, mosh pits happen, there's no avoiding them. A ska concerts, skanking will occur. It's natural. Just go with it. Don't assume it's your responsibility to protect your girlfriend by unnecessarily throwing 'bows at nearby moshers. Moshing should be confined to a specific area, so just avoid it if you have a problem with it. And moshers: don't go out of your way to shit-stomp people that have no inclinations on being shit-stomped. Really, you shouldn't be shit-stomping at a concert. You don't need to fuck up shit, no matter what Reel Big Fish tells you.
   
7. Surf's down - It's not really that cool to body surf. Sorry to break it to you this way. It's one thing if you need to, if you're getting overheated or can't take the crowd, let people know around you, and they'll pass you back (this actually happened to me once, without me knowing. I somehow got way too overheated and blacked out for a minute. The next thing I knew I was being passed backwards. Definitely a weird set of events). And guys, if there's a girl crowd surfing, don't grab her ass or boobs. Not cool.
   
8. Sing it proud - If you know the words, it's ok to sing along. Sometimes even asked of you by performers (see: Ben Folds Live, on the songs Army and Not the Same. It's something that he's done every time I've seen him). One of the coolest experiences I've had was seeing Thursday, with the crowd singing the back-up vocals on some songs when the lead singer Geoff wasn't able to (he did all of the vocals, I think and there were some multi-layered parts that he obviously wasn't able to do live). If you don't know the words, though, please, please do not try to sing along.
   
9. Move! - It's ok to dance, it's ok to feel the beat, and it's ok to move with it. Do it naturally. If you're like me and have absolutely zero dancing ability, that's OK! Bobbing your head is fine, bouncing in place it a good start, and just letting yourself go is the best. I've come to learn, it doesn't matter. You're having fun, go with it! It shows the performers that you're enjoying what they're doing for you. Of course, if you're seeing a band like Kind of Like Spitting or Low or Mojave 3, it's not really appropriate to be frantically jerking your body around. But you can close your eyes, let the music envelope you, nod your head, enjoy it, take it all in.
10. And this is by far the most important rule for me - SHUT UP AND LISTEN!!! - You paid $15 or $5 or $30 for a ticket or cover to get into the club and hear a band play, not to have a conversation with your friend about what you're going to do tomorrow. More importantly, everyone else around you paid that same amount to hear the band play, and not to try to hear them over your shouting about how you don't really like wheat bread but feel like you should be eating more of it anyways. NO ONE CARES. Show the band some respect, listen to what they're doing. This is much more than just a show to them. It's their livelihood. It's their life. They've invested so much into practicing and touring and pouring their hearts into their songs, the least you could do is shut the hell up for an hour and really appreciate it. Nothing bothers me more than to hear the din of conversations going on in between songs, unless I can hear it during songs. Show some fucking respect. If you have to say something, do it as quietly as possible, to as few people as possible. Turn your ringer on silent. And don't have text message conversations. One is ok, if done inconspicuously. But don't send 5 or 6 messages back and forth with someone about how you hate your boyfriend that is AT THE SHOW WITH YOU and how you are thinking of breaking up with him, especially if you're standing right next to me and the light from your phone is annoying as shit while I'm trying to watch Loney, Dear (true story, ask H!).
    

There you have it. It may sound like a lot, but really, following the rules will lead to such a great experience. And it's all basically common sense stuff, just use your heads, people! I'm sorry if you break the rules and don't think it's a big deal. It is. I mean, it's on my blog and everything.

There's only been one concert that I can remember where all of the rules were followed by everyone: when Jeff Tweedy played in the Iowa Memorial Union on February 19th, 2006. It's been the show to which I compare other shows. There was such a good crowd, they were quiet and listening, with such positive energy, that, as Mr. Tweedy stated, "it feels like everyone in the room is working towards the same goal." It may be the best show I've ever been to. It'll definitely be very hard to top. (I do have a, uh, how you say, bootleg of it, if anyone is interested. . .)

So what are some rules that everyone else has? Of course, there are different circumstances. If the band playing is some crappy frat band, who cares. Or a tribute band. They're on the low end of the totem pole, barely qualifying as "bands." Then there's the opposite end, the arena shows, where everyone not on the floor is seated and eats $7 popcorn while the Red Hot Chili Peppers "thrash." (I have seen them in concert too. . . That was actually the show during which I blacked out! I'm not sure if it was from the heat or from what was coming out of the speakers) And festivals are something completely different altogether. But I'm talking about shows at places like First Ave in Minneapolis, or Emo's here in Austin, or 9:30 Club in DC, or the Metro in Chicago, or Zaphod's in Ottawa (probably the bar with my favorite name ever), or Gabe's/the Picador in Iowa City.

And yes, if it hasn't been painfully obvious for a while now, I am a music elitist. That's who I am. And these are my rules.

I am an excellent steel horse

Adam is out of town until Sunday, so I have the place to myself for a few days. He's barely been gone for a day, and I already feel like I've trashed the place. I have a shirt laying on the floor, I moved some of my computer stuff around, and have books everywhere. Hold on, I just picked up the shirt, this place looks better. Never mind.

Last night, Rock Plaza Central played with o'death at Mohawk here in Austin. I think that Mohawk may have become one of my favorite bars in town. The inside part kind of looks like a dive, but the outside is amazing. It has 3 different levels of patios, along with a good-sized area for shows, which you can see from all of the levels.

The show was most excellent, I wasn't familiar with o'death, but was blown away with their performance. They're kind of a country/punk band, complete with a banjo and fiddle, with lots and lots of energy. Definitely a band I'd see again.

I had seen RPC before, but it was a set cut short due to time constraints, so I was anxious to see them play a full set. Even without the full band (a couple members weren't there last night, the violinist and the accordion/flugelhorn player), these guys remain one of the better live bands I've seen. And nice guys, too. I talked with the lead singer Chris Eaton for a while afterwards, about the Iowa City show and other stuff. So go see these guys (Jad, they'll be a Zaphod's in 3 weeks!), and tell them I say hello!

If only it would not get into the 90's for just one day

Another weekend has passed in Austin, and this time I actually did stuff! Well, not on Friday. I didn't do a damn thing that day. Or really Sunday, either. I don't know if I left the apartment on either of those days. But Saturday, phew, that was a packed day!

Adam's taking a couple of classes in addition to his full-time job, so Saturday was his day to study. And since I was feeling rather restless, as well as just feeling like a turd after sitting around all day Friday, I thought I'd get a ride with him to the University of Texas campus and check things out. The plan was that he'd meet with his study group, then work on a paper, then we'd find somewhere to watch the Iowa game before we went to the Animal Collective show. Of course, I had to wear my Iowa shirt, so I thought I'd be hearing about it all day long. Much to my surprise, I didn't hear a single comment about the Hawkeyes. And I had never seen so much burnt orange in one place in my life. I would estimate that about 85-90% of the people I saw were wearing the color, and I'm being totally serious, not exaggerating at all. It was honestly kind of scary. I thought all of the Longhorn fans would turn to me with glazed eyes and try to eat my brain and then drape me in a shirt proclaiming my love for all things Texas. I think the Iowa shirt actually helped me out, though, they were probably too busy trying to figure out if "Iowa" was a foreign country or a band. Like "Iowa and the Hawkeyes" or something like that.

Anyways, the campus is pretty nice, definitely a different style than any I've been on. There are very few green areas, mostly buildings one right after the other. The architecture is a nice change from the usual university-type that I'm used to. Plus, they have a couple of fountains and a turtle pond, which I thought were nice touches. (again, I've taken pictures, but they're with Adam's camera, so I need to get them off of their. I'm pretty terrible about that lately. . . sorry)

We ended up going to the bar where the Iowa Alumni meet to watch games, which I think will be a regular weekend spot for me. The parts of the game that we saw were great, the Hawks leading 10-7 when we had to leave for the show. Unfortunately, things didn't end as well, as they lost 17-13. And it killed me to not be able to watch the end. We didn't have to leave, but I paid $15 for the ticket and I really wanted to see Animal Collective again. Although, we probably could have stayed for the rest of the game (which ended around 11 pm central time) and still made it in time for Animal Collective (doors were at 9, show was supposed to start at 10, the opening band didn't start until shortly after 11). So that put me into an even worse mood, especially when I decided I wasn't in the mood for the openers. So what do I do to make everything better? Order a Jack and Coke!

The show that Animal Collective put on was enough to pull me out of my pissy mood (for the most part). They put on one of the best live performances I've seen both times I've gone, so I would really recommend seeing them if they head to your area. They can attack you with a huge sound, and then a minute later be playing a delicate melody with some light, airy vocals floating over top. They played a great mix of songs off of their new album Strawberry Jam, as well as some older ones and yet-to-be-released songs (one such song is one of my favorites of theirs, so I'm hoping it'll be on some upcoming release). While they didn't play their song about kitties, or the one about puppies, they had enough great material to make the show enjoyable throughout. I'm glad that this was my first show in Austin.

Here's a video I'm "borrowing" from youtube that someone took from this show. It's of an okay quality, of a great song, so enjoy! (I'm pretty sure this is the same song that I posted a video of from when they played in Iowa City. Weird!)



Now tomorrow is a big day for media releases, the new Iron and Wine comes out, as well as the new Weakerthans album. Also, on DVD, Knocked Up will be available. But the biggest, most hyped item hitting the shelves will be Halo 3. Now if I had an xbox 360, or $700 to spend on one and the game, I'd definitely be buying it. Seeing as how that's a substantial chunk of the money I have (without any more coming in at the time), I think I'll pass. I'll just try to make friends with people lined up for it, maybe they'd invite me over.

Alright, time for me to go out and buy some new sheets. Exciting, right? Well, there may be some more excitement, and if there is, I'll definitely post pictures. Promise.

It's all happening so fast!

Things are going alright here in Austin, still trying to figure out the city and the strange on/off "ramps" that are only about 50 feet long, and the turnarounds and other stuff like that. And the 90+ degree heat, when it's in the 40's and 50's back in Iowa.

I'll have some pictures soon, but right now I apologize for not getting on here more often. I'm a little overwhelmed by all of the concerts that are coming up: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone on Monday, Animal Collective on Saturday, Rock Plaza Central next week, Regina Spektor soon, as well as Of Montreal, Maria Taylor, Rilo Kiley, just in the next month or so. And that's not even including the Austin City Limits Fest that's occurring as I type. Adam and I walked around downtown a little bit Friday night, and it was kind of impressive to hear live music emanating from just about every other bar we walked past. I don't think I'll be bored here. I just need to get used to the traffic and stuff. Oh, and find a job. But I've gotten started on that, we'll see what happens.

For now, I've gotta get back to watching football to check up on the 49ers and my fantasy players. Like I said, I'll have some photos up soon, I promise!