.... is that the math and science nerds see right through the pseudo-intellectual, Vonnegut-loving, bullshit posturing of the english and drama nerds.
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05/14/08 First Ave Minneapolis, MN
05/30/08 Upfront & Company Marquette, MI 05/31/08 Upfront & Company Marquette, MI 06/07/08 Fine Line Music Minneapolis, MN 06/14/08 UW Terrace Madison, WI 06/28/08 Triple Rock Minneapolis, MN 07/05/08 Summerfest Milwaukee, WI 07/12/08 St. John Center Rochester, MN |
Just two weeks short of 13 years since I'd first seen Polara, I visited Minneapolis' Varsity Theater to see if they were still the band I remembered so fondly.
Their first opener, Mercurial Rage, performed an entertaining, if not amazing, electro-rock set. Being the fashionably late sort, I actually missed most of it, so it wouldn't be fair to judge them entirely, but I did see some potential there and certainly didn't dislike what I saw. The Faint meets INXS, perhaps. They seemed a bit like a work in progress. I'll definitely have to check them out again down the line.
Thoroughly exploiting my weakness for co-ed punk were the Mood Swings. The Mood Swings are what I would call no-scream girl-punk. Sometimes I forget that female-vocalized punk can still have an edge and an energy without being angry or harsh (Though in all honesty: the good stuff is often both). This narrow-mindedness is no doubt due to stubborn attachment to my Bikini Kill, Babes in Toyland and Muffs collections. But anyway The Mood Swings were lovely. Check out myspace.com/themoodswings and listen to No Limit, my personal favorite. I think you'll find "Lovely" is an apt descriptor).
Polara chose not to play last, instead allowing the Alarmists to take that spot, saying they would be able to more enjoy their release show that way. It had been over two years since their last live show, and I was impressed at how effortlessly they hit the stage running. No sign of rust whatsoever. Lead singer/guitarist Ed Ackerson took to the stage looking - with his disheveled hair and trademark clunky glasses - less like a rock star and more like someone at the IT desk who would help you reset your password. As a whole, the band looked both very natural on stage and very much as if they enjoyed themselves, soaking in the attention with humble professionalism. And why not? There were enough photographers darting back and forth in front of the stage to make me wonder when Posh Spice would make her appearance. It was a good set, actually even better than I remembered them and certainly well worth the hype.
Then, at exactly midnight, it was time for my first glimpse of the Alarmists. I soon became aware that, like Cinderellas in reverse, dozens of 18 to 25-year old women had appeared as if from nowhere to join the ball, flooding forward in order to gaze in rapt attention at the poster-ready boys who took the stage. I thought their set was good, indie, post-punk hard rock - not typically conducive to legions of screaming girls, on the face of it - but as I attempted to peer over the impenetrable wall of Scandinavian female flesh, I could only arrive at one conclusion: these boys must be dreamy hot. The highlight of their set - the highlight for me anyway, and likely also for the male hipsters who had largely by this point retreated to a safe distance - was when they called Ed Ackerson back to the stage in an old(er) meets young(er) set evoking Neil Young with Pearl Jam. Don't roll your eyes at me. The song was Cinnamon Girl, OK? Alright then.
 The Mood Swings ♥ photo by andrew |
 Polara ♥ photo by andrew |
 The Alarmists ♥ photo by andrew |
Links:
myspace.com/polara
thealarmistsband.com
myspace.com/themoodswings
www.susstones.com
What is your deepest, darkest fear?
Submitted by [Susan].
Being friendless, brainless, helpless, hopeless, and unemployed in Greenland!
My family is crazy and my mother is the worst of us, so it's no surprise that anything labeled a "Mother's Day celebration" would be screaming chaos on tall red wheels.
My parents just recently bought a house closer to my four sisters and further from me, but this means that the time has come again for my mother to clean out her sewing/craft room. To give you an idea of the Herculean scope of this task: my mother's sewing room makes your nearest fabric store look like a hobby. She's insane. Dutiful daughters that we are, though, Liberty and Elephant and I make the trek to Mom's house to begin the sorting and disposing of years of accumulated fabric, craft projects, dolls, quilt books, and various miscellaneous.
Since I know you all love the highlight reels, here it is:
Mom: My steak isn't quite done. Maybe I'll put it in the microwave.
Me: Don't nuke your steak.
Elephant: Trade me. Mine's more done.
Mom: Maybe I'll just put it in the microwave. It's bloody.
(Dad goes on eating his steak in stoic silence, because Mom's steak is never right.)
Mom: Did everyone else's get done?
Me: No, mine's bloody. The way I like it.
Mom: So is mine. I wonder if I should microwave it.
Liberty: Happy Mother's Day and quit being a whiny bitch.
Being woken on Sunday morning to a psychedelic light show.
Me: (hissed behind my mother's back at my sisters): No more fucking questions. No more questions! We don't care what that fabric's for. The only question is keep or give away.
Mom: Oh, and these are the scraps from Dusty's quilt.
Me: No more reminiscing! You can reminisce when you unpack the boxes!
Elephant: I can't believe you tell that story on yourself about peeing in a potato chip bag in a canoe.
Me: I have to. It's a preemptive strike. If I tell the most embarrassing story about myself that I can think of, it takes away your ammo.
Me: Cake or death?
Elephant: Can I have a piece of cake and then death?
Me: No, you can't have both. It's cake or death. Not cake and/or death.
Liberty: Pick death. We want your slice of cake.
Followed by the studious sound of the four of us licking the lemon cream frosting off our cake plates. (Amazing cake.)
Mom: I think I'll give that to your Aunt Jan.
Liberty: Yeah, she'll like that. She's a panooch.
Mom: What's a panooch?
Liberty: She's a cunt.
Mom: (after five minutes of laughing): You made me wet my pants.
These are all just moments that weren't a maelstrom of screaming and flung fabric and insults. Those are just impossible to transcribe.
SPECIAL BONUS LAUGH: Just remembered this while talking to Hubbicula.
Dad's lawnmower blew its spark plug, so at the last minute, he asked me to bring him my lawn mower. To beat the rain, I had to skip most of my packing and prepping to leave. Just threw some stuff into my book bag, loaded the mower in the truck and drove. Skipped lunch.
Arrived at Mom & Dad's to an empty house. I stood in the kitchen for a moment, about to go out to the garage or the back yard. Then I noticed in the dog's bowl: an egg roll. Probably from their favorite Chinese restaurant. Just lying there, waiting for the dog to come in and eat it. I admit that for a good thirty seconds, standing there starving and sweaty, I seriously evaluated just how dirty the dog's bowl was. How bad would it be to just fish that egg roll out and eat it? Then Dad came in and I snapped out of it. The dog got lucky.
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05/16/08 Toad’s Place New Haven, CT
Discography
05/22/08 Slims San Francisco, CA 05/24/08 Les Schwab Amp Bend, OR 05/25/08 Sasquatch Festival Quincy, WA 05/28/08 Henry Fonda Theater LA, CA 06/06/08 Wakarusa Festival Lawrence, KS 06/07/08 Slowdown Omaha, NE 06/08/08 Bluebird St. Louis, MO 06/10/08 Bricktown Ballroom Oklahoma, Ok 06/11/08 Granada Theatre Dallas, TX 06/12/08 Warehouse Live Houston, TX 06/13/08 Emo’s Austin, TX 06/14/08 Rev Room Little Rock, AR 06/15/08 Hi-Tone Memphis, TN 06/17/08 Southgate House Newport, KY 06/18/08 Mr. Small’s Theatre Pittsburgh, PA 06/21/08 Popped! Festival Philadelphia, PA 06/25/08 Pemberton Festival Pemberton, BC 08/01/08 Lollapalooza-Grant Park Chicago,IL 08/08/08 All Points West Liberty State, NJ 09/26/08 Austin City Limits Festival TX
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Mates of State are back with Re-Arrange Us, coming out May 20th. Let me tell you that this girl-boy duo knows great pop music.
I first heard about them on a 2003 CMJ compilation with a little song called "Ha Ha", but I didn't think much of it. By 2006, after being signed to Barsuk Records, I remember I started seeing that distinctive "indie cover" artwork with Mates of State's husband and wife team, Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner, in a very strange half embrace.
There's some great pop tunes on Re-Arrange Us, but the song that the record label approved us to use is "My Only Offer", which I already liked so I have no problem with using this particular song. I thought the trumpet, played by Gary Olson, was a very nice addition to the song.
There's a few great songs, including, "Jigsaw", which basically has Jason repeating lyrics sung by Kori (actually, after reading the credits, it lists Ben Gibbard, from Death Cab For Cutie, as backup vocals). It's really easy to sing along, so I think this would be a great live concert pleaser. Also would play great is "Now", which has the simple, but catchy "Now now now now now now. Now now now now now now, who who who?"
I also really dug "The Re-Arranger", which is basically what the album was named after. This song sounds like it's escaped from the 60s and made a stop in the 80s, before resurfacing now.
The duo are currently doing some tour dates to promote Re-Arrange Us, so catch them if you're able. According to their official website, if you pre-order the album, it should arrive in your mailbox on the 20th, but you can usually find Barsuk records at most good record stores.
PS, apparently the band is a fan of the "Little Boxes" song (there is a live rendition on their myspace). I wonder if they got involved with the song because of Death Cab for Cutie's version or because they're also doing a theme song for Weeds?
I'm something of a one-trick-pony from a sporting standpoint. I love the National Football League, and specifically my Washington Redskins, but I've never been able to muster much in the way of interest in other sports. The way I typically explain this to people is by saying that the Redskins break my heart every year, and one abusive sporting relationship is already more than I can take, but the reality is that I just don't find most other sports all that interesting. Baseball bores me so much I bring novels to the games, basketball is only interesting in the last five minutes of the game, and hockey is...well hockey. I quite like competitive martial arts, but try admitting to that in mixed company.
Anyway, all that changed last weekend when I had the opportunity to attend the DC Rollergirls Championship Bout between the DC Demon Cats and Scare Force One. I can say without exception that semi-professional roller derby is the second finest team sport being played in America today. It's got girls, skates, girls on skates, hip checks, shoulder checks, bad puns, good puns, noisemakers and creative bloodletting. If it doesn't replace hockey as America's fourth major sport in the next decade, there's something deeply wrong with people.
The night got started as my favorite team (decided the afternoon before after a glance at the Web site) The Secretaries of Hate tried to get their first-ever win against the Cherry Blossom Bombshells in the warm-up match. The Secretaries were game but undersized, and soon the Cherry Blossoms' blockers were able to impose their will with a series of vicious checks, winning going away in the second half. Apparently I choose roller derby teams about as well as I choose football teams, but whatever. We still we have the best name and the coolest banners. The victories can't be far behind.
In the finals, the unbeaten Scare Force One looked to defend their title against the tough-minded Demon Cats. Scare Force One has a player named Six-Five in Skates, and what was remarkable was not that she was tall, but that she was not all that much taller than the other players on the team. Tough, tough girls. The Demon Cats got off to an early lead, but they could hold off the Scare Force onslaught. Scare Force One pulled ahead in the second half and sealed their third-straight championship.
I'm buying season tickets (if that's possible) next year. If you live in DC and you don't you're dumb.
Lieberman has checked McCain's bearings. Ewwww. Now he wants to be Zell Miller for 2008. Next, I guess he will challenge Chris Matthews to a duel.
A couple of months ago when Myron Cope shuffled off this mortal coil, I thought it proper to link to some sound bites. I guess it's because I thought of him primarily as a radio personality that I didn't consider checking Youtube. Sweet Jesus, that was a mistake! This video, which I can only assume was meant to make me excited for Pittsburgh Pirates baseball, came to my attention a couple of days ago. It's probably not safe for work. Or home. Or.... anywhere, really. Don't say you weren't warned.
And while I am a mom and all that, Mother's Day is also the day I graduated from college.
In 1998.
Go ahead, do the math on your fingers. This is the last year you will have enough fingers for all of the years because I graduated 10 years ago.
And honestly, I'm pretty okay with how those 10 years have gone. I spent five of those 10 years married to my now estranged husband. I spent six years working for a company I probably never should have left, but I did. I spent three months living in Tunisia. I've spent the last four years being a mom to a really great kid. I've traveled and seen some amazing things. I bought a bar and helped to keep it open for two years now. And I've spent the past several months working in a challenging and often exciting and certainly frustrating new field.
I was never one of those people with a plan. If you had asked me on my graduation day where I would be in 10 years, I don't know what I would have said. My answer probably wouldn't have matched where I'm at now. But that doesn't really matter. What does matter, is that I'm happy with where I am. I'm happy with the ups and downs of the last 10 years. If you asked me today, I couldn't tell you what I will be doing in another 10 years. I just don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead. But I'm okay with that.
I'm happy now and I'm confident I'll be happy then, too.
It's a good feeling.