Marc
On Living Out of A Backpack and/or the Trunk of My Car: It felt like I hadn't stopped moving for about a week until I walked through the door of my apartment yesterday at about five in the evening. This is a bit ridiculous considering the fact that I hadn't done anything but lay at my parent's house and run around Kankakee for about three days straight, but still, being at the parents' can also be kind of harrowing after three days. That's the longest amount of time I've spent there in almost a year, I would say. And, after the third day, believe me, I needed to leave. Nothing against them, but I know that I would've had to stop playing video games and eating all the ice cream (on account of getting the teeth pulled) and would've been made to do some work around the house if I had stayed any longer. So I left.
On, Again, Rollo Tomasi and, Also, The Mt St Helens, or conversely -- Walking Into A Room Filled With People That You Don't Quite See Everyday and Hearing Them All Ask You How Your Teeth Were Doing: I was pleasantly suprised by the turnout at the Fireside for Matt's show, and for the other guys as well. I hadn't realized, quite simply, that Matt hadn't played there since the 2001 SuperBowl, when StraightLeggedKick opened up for River City High to a crowd of twenty or so. I'd say there were about a hundred there this time, at least, and a good portion of the crowd were jovial, jolly friends of new and old. It was strange to see people walking in and hearing them all say things like, "Hey, Marc! How're you doing? How's your teeth? How was Miami?" which was flattering, but odd. I have a feeling that all those hits on the counter that Zach and I have talked about forever are from people in the suburbs.
The bands, though, were the important part. The Mt St's were first and they did not disappoint. They did have some technical difficulties (ie - a broken bass string, which you can never really plan for unless you're a rich, rich man and are able to have oodles of extra strings on hand), but I like watching bands perservere. It's the way I watch people play music. I'm interested in (a) whether or not they now how to play their instruments at all; (b) how well they put a song together; (c) their stage presence; and, if I like them well enough, (d) I want to see if I can watch them and learn how to play some of their stuff. But I'll also always dig watching a band mess up, cause I like seeing how they put it back together, which is not saying that the Mt St Helens had a catastrophe happen on stage. It was a broken bass strange, but it was just annoying enough to make things interesting. Do the Mt St's have all the other qualities I look for? Yes, and so much more. I actually get jealous watching them, cause they make what they do look so easy at times, and in watching what both Quinn and Mike, the two guitar players, are doing, I can tell that it's not easy at all. I can't do half of it. But they just stand there, and do the moves, and play the songs, and I'm always amazed while I watch them. They sounded huge, too. I hope they play again soon, and I hope, for all of the readers that didn't make it to the show, that you attend next time, because you will not be disappointed. People recommend their friend's bands all the time, and it's usually one of those fifteen percent type deals, where only about fifteen percent of the band's that your friends recommend to you are worth watching. The Mt St Helens are, far and away, one of those bands.
As is Rollo Tomasi. The sound guy did a fantastic job of making just about everything on stage sound as if it were coming out of the barrell of a shotgun. I was standing about halfway back in the crowd, and my ears still hurt quite a bit. I think they're still ringing. They play in drop D mostly, and are just about the thickest band I've seen come out of Chicago in a long time. Everything about them is as tight as highwire, minus Matt's stage presence, which was funny, but funny in that sad, "Oooh, I bet he's a little drunk" type of way. He looked like he was getting ready to play the Master of Ceremonies at a circus for a few minutes. The biggest improvement from the last show I saw them play was Neil's voice, which was mostly due, I would imagine, to the improved sound system. Thick, intense, and powerful enough to capture the essence of what they were trying to do with the music. Decent singers are hard to come by. Rollo Tomasi definitely has one. Yet again, another band that, minus the fact that I know a couple of the guys, is worth seeing.
On Crapface the Cat and Being Completely Worn Out While Watching the Muppets Newest Christmas Special: I had a nice little domesticated experience last night as my roommate, Erin, decided that she wanted to cook dinner for the both of us. She'd been alone all week, and my return marked the return of someone for her to talk to again. So, of course, we had to celebrate. After a healthy two course meal filled with popcorn shirt, cheddar biscuits, and brocolli au gratin rice, we plopped down on the couch and turned on the Muppets Merry Christmas movie, and what would I do but fall asleep. Who fell asleep with me? Crapface. He's like a blanket, but smaller, and he breathes. I guess the two of us slept for about an hour, and we woke up just in enough time to see the end where, if you don't mind me ruining everything for you, Kermit realizes that he just needs to be a good person, and God (played by Whoopi Goldberg) realizes that Kermit didn't need her help, and this angel-guy (played by David Arquette) realizes that he didn't need to help Kermit either, and Pepe (the awesome new crab looking character) realizes that he'll never be able to sleep with Mrs. Bitterman (played by Joan Cusack) but that won't make him stop trying. Crapface and Erin and I laughed and laughed and laughed, and then we had friends over to play cards. If I were sixty I would've put on my Depends and gone to bed immediately after my second glass of eggnog.
On Living Out of A Backpack and/or the Trunk of My Car: It felt like I hadn't stopped moving for about a week until I walked through the door of my apartment yesterday at about five in the evening. This is a bit ridiculous considering the fact that I hadn't done anything but lay at my parent's house and run around Kankakee for about three days straight, but still, being at the parents' can also be kind of harrowing after three days. That's the longest amount of time I've spent there in almost a year, I would say. And, after the third day, believe me, I needed to leave. Nothing against them, but I know that I would've had to stop playing video games and eating all the ice cream (on account of getting the teeth pulled) and would've been made to do some work around the house if I had stayed any longer. So I left.
On, Again, Rollo Tomasi and, Also, The Mt St Helens, or conversely -- Walking Into A Room Filled With People That You Don't Quite See Everyday and Hearing Them All Ask You How Your Teeth Were Doing: I was pleasantly suprised by the turnout at the Fireside for Matt's show, and for the other guys as well. I hadn't realized, quite simply, that Matt hadn't played there since the 2001 SuperBowl, when StraightLeggedKick opened up for River City High to a crowd of twenty or so. I'd say there were about a hundred there this time, at least, and a good portion of the crowd were jovial, jolly friends of new and old. It was strange to see people walking in and hearing them all say things like, "Hey, Marc! How're you doing? How's your teeth? How was Miami?" which was flattering, but odd. I have a feeling that all those hits on the counter that Zach and I have talked about forever are from people in the suburbs.
The bands, though, were the important part. The Mt St's were first and they did not disappoint. They did have some technical difficulties (ie - a broken bass string, which you can never really plan for unless you're a rich, rich man and are able to have oodles of extra strings on hand), but I like watching bands perservere. It's the way I watch people play music. I'm interested in (a) whether or not they now how to play their instruments at all; (b) how well they put a song together; (c) their stage presence; and, if I like them well enough, (d) I want to see if I can watch them and learn how to play some of their stuff. But I'll also always dig watching a band mess up, cause I like seeing how they put it back together, which is not saying that the Mt St Helens had a catastrophe happen on stage. It was a broken bass strange, but it was just annoying enough to make things interesting. Do the Mt St's have all the other qualities I look for? Yes, and so much more. I actually get jealous watching them, cause they make what they do look so easy at times, and in watching what both Quinn and Mike, the two guitar players, are doing, I can tell that it's not easy at all. I can't do half of it. But they just stand there, and do the moves, and play the songs, and I'm always amazed while I watch them. They sounded huge, too. I hope they play again soon, and I hope, for all of the readers that didn't make it to the show, that you attend next time, because you will not be disappointed. People recommend their friend's bands all the time, and it's usually one of those fifteen percent type deals, where only about fifteen percent of the band's that your friends recommend to you are worth watching. The Mt St Helens are, far and away, one of those bands.
As is Rollo Tomasi. The sound guy did a fantastic job of making just about everything on stage sound as if it were coming out of the barrell of a shotgun. I was standing about halfway back in the crowd, and my ears still hurt quite a bit. I think they're still ringing. They play in drop D mostly, and are just about the thickest band I've seen come out of Chicago in a long time. Everything about them is as tight as highwire, minus Matt's stage presence, which was funny, but funny in that sad, "Oooh, I bet he's a little drunk" type of way. He looked like he was getting ready to play the Master of Ceremonies at a circus for a few minutes. The biggest improvement from the last show I saw them play was Neil's voice, which was mostly due, I would imagine, to the improved sound system. Thick, intense, and powerful enough to capture the essence of what they were trying to do with the music. Decent singers are hard to come by. Rollo Tomasi definitely has one. Yet again, another band that, minus the fact that I know a couple of the guys, is worth seeing.
On Crapface the Cat and Being Completely Worn Out While Watching the Muppets Newest Christmas Special: I had a nice little domesticated experience last night as my roommate, Erin, decided that she wanted to cook dinner for the both of us. She'd been alone all week, and my return marked the return of someone for her to talk to again. So, of course, we had to celebrate. After a healthy two course meal filled with popcorn shirt, cheddar biscuits, and brocolli au gratin rice, we plopped down on the couch and turned on the Muppets Merry Christmas movie, and what would I do but fall asleep. Who fell asleep with me? Crapface. He's like a blanket, but smaller, and he breathes. I guess the two of us slept for about an hour, and we woke up just in enough time to see the end where, if you don't mind me ruining everything for you, Kermit realizes that he just needs to be a good person, and God (played by Whoopi Goldberg) realizes that Kermit didn't need her help, and this angel-guy (played by David Arquette) realizes that he didn't need to help Kermit either, and Pepe (the awesome new crab looking character) realizes that he'll never be able to sleep with Mrs. Bitterman (played by Joan Cusack) but that won't make him stop trying. Crapface and Erin and I laughed and laughed and laughed, and then we had friends over to play cards. If I were sixty I would've put on my Depends and gone to bed immediately after my second glass of eggnog.
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