Whoa, haven't posted in over a year.

Lots of travel, lots of good shows, lots of really crappy movies.
I hate the movie-going experience these days, and would much rather retreat to my basement with some thai food and a dvd.

Best shows of 2007 so far
Budos Band
Camera Obscura
The National
Explosions in the Sky


Best releases of 2007 so far
A Place to Bury Strangers
Budos Band
The National
Explosions in the Sky
Pinback
Parts and Labor

Hope to get to a few more shows in the coming weeks, though work impinges on nearly everything now. Still, I'm really hopeful for the Parts and Labor show at the Sunset on Halloween.
Thankfully, Spurs have managed to free up my saturday mornings. Feel awful about it, but they really haven't been repaying my attention/interest. Thus, it figures that I'll be attending my first match in London in this crazy, shitty season.

Went down to Portland this weekend to check out Devil's Point. the verdict? It's very, very small. Which would be cool if I wasn't smashed into a corner. Still, nice rocking cover of Don Henley's 'Boys of Summer.' Mad props, in the parlance of the youth. Shanghai Tunnel was the same as always, which suits me fine.
Such a lovely town.

I'll be at the Band of Horses cd release show on Friday, and at the Sunset tavern on Saturday for the Sockit Wenches party. I may check out the Posies on Sunday.

Damn, so Dr. Frank, my one and only SG 'Friend' and the reason (okay, not the only reason) I joined cold got fired from this place. That's some cold shit, right there.

I'm pretty excited, as I'm planning a trip to europe for the World Cup and some totally unrelated Croatia time. Still trying to think of where to spend a couple of days in late june. I think I'm going to wait until I see more concert listings and just fly somewhere where there's something cool happening. The whole cheap airline thing has really transformed travelling in Europe. In a good way, at least for me. I appreciate that there's basically no difference to me, the consumer, in choosing btwn Tallinn, Rome or Glasgow. And I like that. Stockholm is edging ahead, though Krakow is still a big draw.

Going to see Arab Strap on the 28th, Belle and Sebastian + new pornographers on the 25th and the Emeralds with Tsushimamire on the 26th. One weekend (and a tuesday) of straight-up radness. Still haven't decided on Jenny Lewis, which means it's probably a no.

Nothing much going on.
Stars at the showbox was nice, but tainted by the sound/mix. Weird keys/electronics completely overwhelmed the guitars and bass, making for a really strange sound. They put on a good show, though, which is more than I can say for the Elected, Blake Sennet's band, which didn't really impress.
I hope to catch November Witch down in Oly this week - can't remember which day.
I'm also stoked for the coming baseball season, and more trips to see my beloved Tacoma Rainiers. Can't come soon enough.

Come on, Seahawks.


It's gonna happen. It's time. I deserve this; the city deserves this.

Stars on Wed. at the Showbox. Anyone going? Ok, anyone who's reading this?

Tomorrow, the Birthday.
I shall go see Colin Meloy and see if I can get one of them tour EPs of his.

Since I've got to drive a long way, I think drinking heavily is out of the picture. I've still got to work on thu., after all. My wife won't be there. This birthday could certainly stand to add a bit of rad; I'm happy to see the show, of course, but damn.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
I hope to attend the Camper van Beethoven show in t-town on the 28th, and to go to Portland sometime before that. Thanks to all who have made 2005 a not completely terrible year. It is appreciated, and the steady supply of debate, discussion and boobies that is SG is a big part of that.

Applying for more World Cup tickets - the chances are slim. Hoping for good news from the US Soccer federation. We'll see.
Anyone else on this thingy going to Germany next summer?

Rat City Rollerderby championship bout last night - Derby Liberation front wins it w/a convincing performance over the Throttle Rockets. Looking forward to seeing the debut of the Rose City roller girls in Portland next week. Any SGs taking part?

Went to Jules Mae's afterwards, which is Seattle's oldest pub. I hadn't been there before, but it's definitely worth a look. Hard to really get a feel for it, since it was packed to the rafters. Some pretty decent punk rock was played, though i never caught any of the bands' names.

(oops, this was orignally posted as a comment. This site demands careful attention to things that are not boobies, a fact which wasn't clearly explained up front)

Saw the new pornographers on Saturday, but missed the Queers on Sunday. shit.
13 and God played a half-decent, if short, show at Chop Suey on tuesday; not really my thing. I can respect it for what it is, but I'm out of my element there. I'd have paid double to just hear the Acher bros. perform as the Notwist. beats staying at home, though.
1 month 'till the SG burlesque tour rolls through town...

The release of the new Wolf Parade album's been accompanied by the most impressive amount of hype I've seen in years. I don't think it's Subpop's doing; it's just too widespread. But man, it's a weird position to be in where your debut record garners rave reviews (yay!) and is also supposedly going to Change The Face of Music, or Fundamentally Alter Space-time or some such. 'The Shins will Change Your Life' blog could do a month's worth of posts using nothing but Wolf Parade reviews.
What must it be like to be in England, where at least a dozen albums a year are supposed to have the power to reanimate the dead, cure cancer and settle the question 'Why are we here' once and for all. The bands don't ask for this, but even before the damn record comes out, everyone's got totally unrealistic expectations. Of course, then they move 10,000 units in a week, so it's not exactly life-threatening. Disappointed customers are still customers.

I will say nothing about the Hurricane because I'll just regret it later. Bloggers must somehow be able to turn off, or at least tune out, shame. Cool.
I'll be at Mt. Saint Helens for the weekend, which looks nice, and reminds me of the wonderfully picturesque, awe-inspiring and yet relatively harmless natural disaster I experienced as a young kid.

Music - saw Cerulean and Mono in VCF last tuesday; not bad at all. Looking forward to the new pornographers, the Oct 1 KEXP show at Neumo's and the Suicide Girls tour Oct. 28th.