The Spring in Review
May 13th, 2008Honestly, what the hell have I been doing all year? There’s not much point in having a blog if you only post things once or twice a season. In my defense, things have been a little hectic. So let’s hit some of the bigger items.
I Went to Barcelona
Which sounds so much more exciting than I let it be. In my defense though, it was my first time out of the country. And watching CNN stories about terrorists preferring tourists for hostages and getting warned from everyone I talked to about pickpockets stealing their passports certainly didn’t put me in the right state of mind for global adventure. First of all, I’m going to stop buying books about places I’m going to visit. I never read them, and when I do read them, they don’t tell my anything helpful enough to have made it worth buying the book. I’m better off just getting on the plane and then reading the brochures in my hotel room and asking for tips from the concierge. All I really need is my iPhone and my Visa. That’s it. I might not even pack anything else next time.
By the way, dining globally is a bit of a challenge for the fussy eater. Twice I thought I was ordering some kind of pasta with marinara sauce and once I wound up with cheese ravioli that smelled like fish and the other time I got a bowl of rice with a crab on top of it. A dead crab. If it had been a live crab, I could have named it and explored Barcelona with it, like a pet.
Long story short: I was kinda on edge, which is to be expected on my first trip out of the country. I’ll be more on top of my game next time. And now I have a passport, which means if Brian Eno plays live on Earth again in my lifetime, I am so there.
I Saw Some Concerts
Black Lips played Logan Square and were great as always. These guys never disappoint, although I can’t say as much for the opening band, which went by the name of “Quintron and Miss Pussycat” and made it into my list of all-time five worst opening bands ever. And that’s saying something, when I consider the other stinkers in that list. I mean, they ended their set with a puppet show. And that’s not a euphemism, it was an honest-to-god puppet show. Luckily, Black Lips redeemed the night with a high energy set.
My Mom and I saw Robert Cray at the House of Blues. By the way, the only artist I’ve likely seen more than Robert Cray is the Reverend Horton Heat. Robert Cray was among the first bands I saw as a kid, at the age of 13 with my parents at Summerfest in Milwaukee. I honestly haven’t kept up with his albums since “Shame + Sin”, but from the sound of his performance, he hasn’t strayed far from his sound. This was a far more relaxed evening with my mom at the HOB, since last time we were there involved the Reverend Horton Heat, long island ice teas, cigars and bouncers.
I went and saw The Magnetic Fields at Old Town School of Folk Music. This was an excellent performance, much better than the exhausted set they played previously at the Old Town School. I was a little surprised they didn’t employ any guitar effects since their new album is called “Distortion” and sounds like the Jesus and Mary Chain, but it was no matter. The evening was filled with perfect songs and witty (and sometimes rambling) stage banter. No opening act at this show, which was nice since it started a bit late for my taste.
I saw a sold-out Raveonettes show at Double Door. It was packed. This was also the first show I saw with the gal who sits next to me at work. We’ve been planning to see a show for over a year, but it’s never worked out until now. The Raveonettes put on an excellent performance, far better than their previous show, supporting the questionable “Pretty in Black” album. Their new release “Lust, Lust, Lust” finds them in top form, and their live show is just as good.
I also saw Jens Lekman, Laurie Anderson, Duke Spirit and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Not at the same time though, although that would be a hell of a ticket.
The Whole Baby Thing
Not much to say on that front yet, other than we’re moving forward. At this point I’m simultaneously excited, nervous and in denial about the whole thing. In spite of all that, I do think I’m going to be a decent dad though – because frankly, what other choice do I have? This really isn’t the kind of thing I have the option to screw up. Fortunately, I hear that kids are more resilient than they’re thought to be, which is good news, since I’m fairly certain they’re made of porcelain. Speaking of Coop, looks like I’m going to miss The Cure show (8th row tickets!) because of him, which means he is SO GROUNDED. I mean it, he’s not leaving the house for months.
Speaking of Baby Updates
When it does come time for some baby Cooper updates, there’s two good places to check (since you can see how much activity this blog gets lately). The first is my Twitter page. In case you’re unfamiliar with Twitter, it’s basically like a micro-blog, where I can post random thoughts or things as they’re happening.
The other is my Flickr account where baby photos will be posted at some point. Since Faith and I watched a freaky show on CNN about baby thieves, we might only make those photos available to folks with a username and password. So if you’re interested in seeing baby Coop, e-mail me and let me know.
Because of that show on baby thieves, I won’t be posting anything too specific on either Twitter or Flickr. Nothing about which hospital we’ll be at, what room we’ll be in, what day we’re going into the hospital, what day we’ll be leaving. Nothing at all that would allow evildoers to do anything evil to baby Cooper. Not that it’s at all likely, but better safe than sorry. If you know me well enough to be reading my blog, you probably know how to get a hold of me. And if you don’t for some reason, you can always e-mail me. I’m pretty responsive through phone, IM, text messages and Twitter on my iPhone these days.