Tonight I went to see Andrew WK at this shit venue in Baltimore called Recher Theater. It's the kind of place that has more money invested in its light shows and thug secrity than the sound system. Lamest venue in Baltimore by far, at least of those that I have been to.
For those of you that haven't experienced the awe-striking party metal adventures of AWK, I HIGHLY recommend you get your ass to the record store and drop your $12 on what will be the most fist-pumping excitement delivered on record in at least a decade. Totally my favorite record of the year, in spite of the lame story I am about to spill on you regarding the live show...
So I get tot he venue early enough to see this shit opening band that sounds like totally tired early 90's emo hardcore, except their singer looks and acts exactly like Sammy Hagar. Sammy Hagar wass intolerable as a 40-year-old has-been singing for Van Halen, why the fuck would anyone want to see a twenty-something try to ape this jerk-offs wannabe Jimmy Buffet hard rock shenanigans. So fucking lame. I left to get a smoothie. Total Chaos played next, which I decided to strategically miss all of sicne I saw them ten years ago in a basement and I cringe to think how embarrassing they might be now. But I ran into a friend that stayed around to watch them and his exact words were "dude, the last band was so embarrassing. I felt so bad for the them." Score one for clairvoyance on my part. Smoothie vs. Total Chaos; Smoothie wins.
Finally, after a good half hour of chanting and screaming from the mostly dense fraternity crowd, Andrew WK comes raging out, drenching wet with the biggest smile on his face. For once, I witnessed someone in the position of being idolized by hundreds of kids GENUINELY having a good time and feeling lucky to be where he his and eternally thankful. He kept thanking the crowd for their generosity and spitting off these totally positive vibes. As cliche as it sounds, it's really inspiring to see someone have fun and be just as much of a performer as he is a fan. He was draggin kids out of the crowd and picking them up over his head and dancing with them and it was just all too surreal and ridiculous to explain.
But none of this posi-core vibe helped keep me form being punched in the head a couple times. I had a dime-sized knot on my eybrow that has now been promoted to the more expensive quarter size and it's turning blue. Ugh. I suddenly remember why I stopped going to metal shows.
After about four songs, I inevitably got lifted by the crowd, which was busting at the seams and popping kids up in the air left and right. I progressively drifted to the front of the stage, where a bouncer grabbed me and told me to get out of the crowd. Of course I couldn't since the crowd was literally EVERYWHERE. So I just jumped back into it. That didn't work. I got pushed right back into the same bouncre, who then asked me to leave. Oh, well. Never been kicked out of a show, so there's a first time for everything. Guess I'll just have to stick to listening to the record and punching myself in my own head.
Stand-out moment of the night: Running into the TransAm guys and diving into a communal mosh pit with sleeveless beach shirts and mesh-back ball caps. Just when you think indie rock is nothing but a bunch of tired assholes convinced of their own greatness, you run into the TransAm guys at an Andrew WK show. And suddenly life is good again. Now if only TransAm weren't making such bad records.
Take care,
LM
PS: Sorry for the ridiculously long journal. You don't have to read it.
For those of you that haven't experienced the awe-striking party metal adventures of AWK, I HIGHLY recommend you get your ass to the record store and drop your $12 on what will be the most fist-pumping excitement delivered on record in at least a decade. Totally my favorite record of the year, in spite of the lame story I am about to spill on you regarding the live show...
So I get tot he venue early enough to see this shit opening band that sounds like totally tired early 90's emo hardcore, except their singer looks and acts exactly like Sammy Hagar. Sammy Hagar wass intolerable as a 40-year-old has-been singing for Van Halen, why the fuck would anyone want to see a twenty-something try to ape this jerk-offs wannabe Jimmy Buffet hard rock shenanigans. So fucking lame. I left to get a smoothie. Total Chaos played next, which I decided to strategically miss all of sicne I saw them ten years ago in a basement and I cringe to think how embarrassing they might be now. But I ran into a friend that stayed around to watch them and his exact words were "dude, the last band was so embarrassing. I felt so bad for the them." Score one for clairvoyance on my part. Smoothie vs. Total Chaos; Smoothie wins.
Finally, after a good half hour of chanting and screaming from the mostly dense fraternity crowd, Andrew WK comes raging out, drenching wet with the biggest smile on his face. For once, I witnessed someone in the position of being idolized by hundreds of kids GENUINELY having a good time and feeling lucky to be where he his and eternally thankful. He kept thanking the crowd for their generosity and spitting off these totally positive vibes. As cliche as it sounds, it's really inspiring to see someone have fun and be just as much of a performer as he is a fan. He was draggin kids out of the crowd and picking them up over his head and dancing with them and it was just all too surreal and ridiculous to explain.
But none of this posi-core vibe helped keep me form being punched in the head a couple times. I had a dime-sized knot on my eybrow that has now been promoted to the more expensive quarter size and it's turning blue. Ugh. I suddenly remember why I stopped going to metal shows.
After about four songs, I inevitably got lifted by the crowd, which was busting at the seams and popping kids up in the air left and right. I progressively drifted to the front of the stage, where a bouncer grabbed me and told me to get out of the crowd. Of course I couldn't since the crowd was literally EVERYWHERE. So I just jumped back into it. That didn't work. I got pushed right back into the same bouncre, who then asked me to leave. Oh, well. Never been kicked out of a show, so there's a first time for everything. Guess I'll just have to stick to listening to the record and punching myself in my own head.
Stand-out moment of the night: Running into the TransAm guys and diving into a communal mosh pit with sleeveless beach shirts and mesh-back ball caps. Just when you think indie rock is nothing but a bunch of tired assholes convinced of their own greatness, you run into the TransAm guys at an Andrew WK show. And suddenly life is good again. Now if only TransAm weren't making such bad records.
Take care,
LM
PS: Sorry for the ridiculously long journal. You don't have to read it.
I've been going to bed after sunrise every night for the last couple months. I can't really sort out why, but my sleeping habits - which were at best habitually nocturnal to begin with - have progressively gotten more and more eschewed from the time clock that the rest of the world is on. I think the fact that I am self-employed and can make up my own hours to work has made me sort of not care at all about when I go to sleep and when I wake up. I guess it's not really a problem, and I certainly prefer staying up really late because I'm more productive at night when the rest of the world is sleeping, but I've been spoiled living in Baltimore because there's tons of stuff that's open 24 hours that I can frequent. Hell, even my post office is open all night. So if I get an itch to fill mail orders at 4 in the morning, I can do it! These luxuries are going to be the death of me in about two weeks when I move to Portland and have to rearrange my work schedule. I tried to get a PO Box in PDX a couple weeks ago and found out that all the post offices (with the exception of downtown which has a one-year waiting list for boxes) close at 5 PM every day! Fuck all! This shit's gonna suck. I'm hoping there's other stuff to do in the wee hours to take my mind off of the fact that I won't be able to buy records or mail packages late at night. I suppose I'll have to find a decent diner and just hang out and read magazines and watch people being people. But for now I'm gonna go to Kinko's, another late night hot spot.
Cheers,
LM
Cheers,
LM
I'm so glad I'm moving. I've lived in the same house for four years and in that time I've had roughly 20 different roommates. Currently there are no less than six people living in this house and four of them are couples and the lone girl has this obsession with me that is starting to transcend into sketchy, scary behavior. She literally clings onto me when I'm walking around the house and makes these really weird announcements like "will you date me until you leave?" To fill you guys in, I'm moving in 16 days. So she really wants to date me for two weeks. When I tell her no, she starts whining and then she gets really pissed off and starts freaking out. Bad news. I hate drama. She's a really nice girl, but she's annoyingly clingy and in desperate need of affection and that's not something I need to be involved in. She's had like 15 one-night stands in the past year and she's only 19. This is all fine and good if that's what she wants, but she genuinely wants a boyfriend not a fuckbuddy. The last thing I wanna do is get freaky with her and leave. SHe'll feel dissed and disappointed in herself and I'm not down with fucking with people's heads. Call me old fashioned.
I've never had a journal before. I was just never really tempted to write, but doing it this way is more like e-mailing a bunch of strangers about my life. And I'm thinking "why not?" Sillier things have happened.
So I have a few questions for any of you willing to answer:
1. What the longest standing habit you have (or had)? For instance, I've chewed my fingernails relentlessly since birth and only begun to fight it a couple years ago.
2. What's your longest standing fear or phobia?
3. Do you wear your cowboy boots on the inside or outside of your jeans?
4. If you could have one superpower of these choices, would it be: flying, invisibility or invincibility and why?
OK Goodnight,
LM
I've never had a journal before. I was just never really tempted to write, but doing it this way is more like e-mailing a bunch of strangers about my life. And I'm thinking "why not?" Sillier things have happened.
So I have a few questions for any of you willing to answer:
1. What the longest standing habit you have (or had)? For instance, I've chewed my fingernails relentlessly since birth and only begun to fight it a couple years ago.
2. What's your longest standing fear or phobia?
3. Do you wear your cowboy boots on the inside or outside of your jeans?
4. If you could have one superpower of these choices, would it be: flying, invisibility or invincibility and why?
OK Goodnight,
LM
I went to see Signs today at the massive over-the-top multiplex today. Strobe lights in the lobby, teens and pre-teens everywhere. High school girls flirting with the cops. The ultimate moviegoing experience.
When we get the cinema, my friend Allison somehow cons me into seeing Halloween: Resurrection instead. I haven't witnessed a decision that bad since the singer from Extreme started singing for Van Halen. The movie SUCKED so hard. The only redeeming quality is Jamie Lee Curtis in a cameo appearence that is all too short but at least it still proves that she's totally Body Karate. Otherwise, shit film. Worthless and pointless and to top it all off Busta Rhymes thrusts it from bad to worse with the most stereotypical, typecast role imaginable. STAY AWAY. Not that anyone else here is stupid enough to be tricked into seeing it int he first place. I blame no one but myself.
Then as a last ditch effort to feel like I hadn't wasted my day and my $6, I forced Allison to see Signs with me straight away. So we buy tickets for it, hit the concession stand and sit through the two most enjoyable hours of film I've had all summer. Definitely the best movie I've seen ina theater this season. WAY better than Unbreakable. Not as good as The Sixth Sense. But all good nonetheless. Suspenseful, charming, and Mel Gibson is not only tolerable, he's actually convincing. And Juoquin Phoenix rules. And there's a little girl in the movie that totally made me wanna have kids. Right now.
But instead I think I'm gonna have some more iced tea and work some more. I'm a bit addicted to work. Does anyone else have this problem? I imagine it's more common in peopl that actually enjoy what they do and therefore probably don't consider it work. I mean I work ALL THE TIME but I never consider it a job because I love doing it. I'm extremely lucky in that way. Anyway, off I go.
Cheers,
LM
When we get the cinema, my friend Allison somehow cons me into seeing Halloween: Resurrection instead. I haven't witnessed a decision that bad since the singer from Extreme started singing for Van Halen. The movie SUCKED so hard. The only redeeming quality is Jamie Lee Curtis in a cameo appearence that is all too short but at least it still proves that she's totally Body Karate. Otherwise, shit film. Worthless and pointless and to top it all off Busta Rhymes thrusts it from bad to worse with the most stereotypical, typecast role imaginable. STAY AWAY. Not that anyone else here is stupid enough to be tricked into seeing it int he first place. I blame no one but myself.
Then as a last ditch effort to feel like I hadn't wasted my day and my $6, I forced Allison to see Signs with me straight away. So we buy tickets for it, hit the concession stand and sit through the two most enjoyable hours of film I've had all summer. Definitely the best movie I've seen ina theater this season. WAY better than Unbreakable. Not as good as The Sixth Sense. But all good nonetheless. Suspenseful, charming, and Mel Gibson is not only tolerable, he's actually convincing. And Juoquin Phoenix rules. And there's a little girl in the movie that totally made me wanna have kids. Right now.
But instead I think I'm gonna have some more iced tea and work some more. I'm a bit addicted to work. Does anyone else have this problem? I imagine it's more common in peopl that actually enjoy what they do and therefore probably don't consider it work. I mean I work ALL THE TIME but I never consider it a job because I love doing it. I'm extremely lucky in that way. Anyway, off I go.
Cheers,
LM
So I'm moving to Portland, OR in about three weeks and still haven't got a place to live sorted out. I'm looking for a 2-3 bedroom house for under $900. If anyone knows of any leads, let me know. I prefer to stay in the NE or SE. Why I chose to move cross-country at the end of August in a cargo van with no windows and no A/C is beyond me. Not too bright. Perhaps I'll disintegrate along the way and won't have to worry about finding a house. Wishful thinking. Off to bed I go.
