Indianapolis.
there just hasn't been much to say. i'm sure that somehow, the law of thermodynamics could be used to analogize my writer's mind, but what's really happening is that i fear it would be a burden-by-vacuum-of-boon to the world to encode my recent thoughts into their corresponding sequence of words and let them be visible; it would do nobody any good, maybe even harm. gold-plated silence.
i guess i got all that i really wanted out of the girl i was momentarily excited about when she said 'yes.'
a child at an air show with a throbbing heart at the roaring nearness of the flight of the passing fancy.
when the day came, i wasn't interested. i called it off. i lied. and that was that.
in the meantime, work and boredom, for the most part.
i'd like my job better if i had someone to talk with and didn't have the feeling that everyone else was talking about me in mexican spanish--nothing has changed.
finally a break in the monotonous clouds as Faun Fables set out on a mini-tour of the central-eastern portion of the northern south. their first show broke the boundaries of the 600-mile bubble--the distance i'd be willing to travel to see a specific handful of bands. i'd traveled to Denver and Chicago to see them, but i'd never been to Indianapolis. i rented a car for the first time in my life, a Chevy Cruze, which had power everything, cruise control, air conditioning, great gas mileage and no soul; it felt completely plastic to me, and while driving, i felt like i was on a date with a woman with whom i detected no immediate connection and had to hide the fact that i smoke cigarettes. still, we got along just fine.
kansas city to indianapolis is a straight shot; get on I-70, stay on I-70 for 8 hours, take yr exit. there's not too much to see. somewhere along the way there is a monstrous white cross on the side of the highway; big enough that i almost dug my camera out. as i passed it i noticed that it wasn't smooth, but covered with what appeared to be vinyl siding. i wondered what was inside it; terrorist schemers perhaps? is this a muslim horse?
i was welcomed at the hotel by the vague smell of curry. when the indian woman appeared at the desk, she confirmed what i'd arranged online: "do you want the smoking room?" i was surprised that there actually was a smoking room available. surprisingly, it didn't smell like an ashtray. i changed my clothes and called for a pizza to be delivered, but i was short on time, so i didn't wait for the guy to come back after he put me on hold. instead, i went back to the lobby and asked for them to call me a cab to go downtown. the lady talked me out of that, instead volunteering a hotel employee to drive me for $25, about the same price as a cab. fountain square, in downtown indianapolis is another place that is obviously going through a revitalization process; lots of hip little shops and restaurants that reeked of newness were nestled among orange cones and barrel-lined one-way streets. i was glad i didn't drive.
i still had about a half hour to kill and i hadn't eaten a thing all day, so i stepped inside a little pizza joint a few doors down from the White Rabbit Cabaret, where Faun Fables was playing. the options for pizza-by-the-slice was pepperoni, sausage or tomato basil, so of course i ordered the tomato basil, but i was disappointed by it when it arrived--it was a large piece of cheese pizza that someone had apparently thrown some tomato slices on, dusted it with dried basil and then stuck back in the oven for a couple of minutes. don't yank me, i make artisan pizza where i work... my snob was squelched when i got the bill and it was only $3.
i grabbed my mic stand and walked to the club, which still hadn't opened, so i stood outside and chatted with a guy named jimmy who was also a nils-projects follower--he told me about all the sleepytime and even idiot flesh shows he'd attended over the years, and how he was also a devoted fan, sometimes driving long distances to see them as well.
the place was dark, had about 25 small tables, and a relatively huge stage, considering that google maps showed me that the building was a Rent-a-Center not that long ago. the beer selection was mostly premium, import and local, and my snobby was beaming.
i talked to nils a little before the show started, mostly about Vollmann, parenthood and some ad-lib he'd done before a sleepytime show several years ago in kansas city. it was about french fries, and it was something i'd sung to myself and expanded upon over the years. he was surprised at the words when i told them they were his, and he gave me the go-ahead to make the song.
Lord of the Yum Yum opened the show and was hilarious. it's a one-man-and-a-looper-pedal show, all a cappella and quite amazing. most of the songs are mash-ups of hit songs interspersed with classical music, all done by mouth. he made a sonata out of "Habanera," from Bizet's 'Carmen,' and mixed it with the heart removal scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. at one point in the chaos of this mixture, he had the microphone in his mouth while flapping his arms, squawking and flying around the stage like a demonic bird.
only about 25-30 people showed up for the show, probably because it wasn't highly publicized; there wasn't even a marquee outside the building to announce the show. of those people, i estimate only about 10-15 were actually there to see Faun Fables. i got the sense that there were people there who just didn't get it... i was chatting up a beautiful girl when a guy that looked like a young Dave Foley appeared and let me know that he was on a first date with her. they had "just happened upon this show" and i was excited at their luck. halfway through the show though, i felt like something was off; it didn't sound right to me. i think i may have tapped into their disinterest at the weird duet onstage. young Dave Foley and his attractive date left early.
it wasn't until a couple days after the show that i listened to my recording and realized what a good show it was. there was even a song i didn't realize that they'd done--i guess i must have been outside, having the one smoke i had during the show...also, the money i'd brought for new merchandise became my snobby beer fund when there was no new merchandise...that may have had something to do with it.
i didn't stay and chat too much after the show, just enough for a couple smiles and pictures, then called the guy from the hotel to come pick me up. my last $25.
there just hasn't been much to say. i'm sure that somehow, the law of thermodynamics could be used to analogize my writer's mind, but what's really happening is that i fear it would be a burden-by-vacuum-of-boon to the world to encode my recent thoughts into their corresponding sequence of words and let them be visible; it would do nobody any good, maybe even harm. gold-plated silence.
i guess i got all that i really wanted out of the girl i was momentarily excited about when she said 'yes.'
a child at an air show with a throbbing heart at the roaring nearness of the flight of the passing fancy.
when the day came, i wasn't interested. i called it off. i lied. and that was that.
in the meantime, work and boredom, for the most part.
i'd like my job better if i had someone to talk with and didn't have the feeling that everyone else was talking about me in mexican spanish--nothing has changed.
finally a break in the monotonous clouds as Faun Fables set out on a mini-tour of the central-eastern portion of the northern south. their first show broke the boundaries of the 600-mile bubble--the distance i'd be willing to travel to see a specific handful of bands. i'd traveled to Denver and Chicago to see them, but i'd never been to Indianapolis. i rented a car for the first time in my life, a Chevy Cruze, which had power everything, cruise control, air conditioning, great gas mileage and no soul; it felt completely plastic to me, and while driving, i felt like i was on a date with a woman with whom i detected no immediate connection and had to hide the fact that i smoke cigarettes. still, we got along just fine.
kansas city to indianapolis is a straight shot; get on I-70, stay on I-70 for 8 hours, take yr exit. there's not too much to see. somewhere along the way there is a monstrous white cross on the side of the highway; big enough that i almost dug my camera out. as i passed it i noticed that it wasn't smooth, but covered with what appeared to be vinyl siding. i wondered what was inside it; terrorist schemers perhaps? is this a muslim horse?
i was welcomed at the hotel by the vague smell of curry. when the indian woman appeared at the desk, she confirmed what i'd arranged online: "do you want the smoking room?" i was surprised that there actually was a smoking room available. surprisingly, it didn't smell like an ashtray. i changed my clothes and called for a pizza to be delivered, but i was short on time, so i didn't wait for the guy to come back after he put me on hold. instead, i went back to the lobby and asked for them to call me a cab to go downtown. the lady talked me out of that, instead volunteering a hotel employee to drive me for $25, about the same price as a cab. fountain square, in downtown indianapolis is another place that is obviously going through a revitalization process; lots of hip little shops and restaurants that reeked of newness were nestled among orange cones and barrel-lined one-way streets. i was glad i didn't drive.
i still had about a half hour to kill and i hadn't eaten a thing all day, so i stepped inside a little pizza joint a few doors down from the White Rabbit Cabaret, where Faun Fables was playing. the options for pizza-by-the-slice was pepperoni, sausage or tomato basil, so of course i ordered the tomato basil, but i was disappointed by it when it arrived--it was a large piece of cheese pizza that someone had apparently thrown some tomato slices on, dusted it with dried basil and then stuck back in the oven for a couple of minutes. don't yank me, i make artisan pizza where i work... my snob was squelched when i got the bill and it was only $3.
i grabbed my mic stand and walked to the club, which still hadn't opened, so i stood outside and chatted with a guy named jimmy who was also a nils-projects follower--he told me about all the sleepytime and even idiot flesh shows he'd attended over the years, and how he was also a devoted fan, sometimes driving long distances to see them as well.
the place was dark, had about 25 small tables, and a relatively huge stage, considering that google maps showed me that the building was a Rent-a-Center not that long ago. the beer selection was mostly premium, import and local, and my snobby was beaming.
i talked to nils a little before the show started, mostly about Vollmann, parenthood and some ad-lib he'd done before a sleepytime show several years ago in kansas city. it was about french fries, and it was something i'd sung to myself and expanded upon over the years. he was surprised at the words when i told them they were his, and he gave me the go-ahead to make the song.
Lord of the Yum Yum opened the show and was hilarious. it's a one-man-and-a-looper-pedal show, all a cappella and quite amazing. most of the songs are mash-ups of hit songs interspersed with classical music, all done by mouth. he made a sonata out of "Habanera," from Bizet's 'Carmen,' and mixed it with the heart removal scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. at one point in the chaos of this mixture, he had the microphone in his mouth while flapping his arms, squawking and flying around the stage like a demonic bird.
only about 25-30 people showed up for the show, probably because it wasn't highly publicized; there wasn't even a marquee outside the building to announce the show. of those people, i estimate only about 10-15 were actually there to see Faun Fables. i got the sense that there were people there who just didn't get it... i was chatting up a beautiful girl when a guy that looked like a young Dave Foley appeared and let me know that he was on a first date with her. they had "just happened upon this show" and i was excited at their luck. halfway through the show though, i felt like something was off; it didn't sound right to me. i think i may have tapped into their disinterest at the weird duet onstage. young Dave Foley and his attractive date left early.
it wasn't until a couple days after the show that i listened to my recording and realized what a good show it was. there was even a song i didn't realize that they'd done--i guess i must have been outside, having the one smoke i had during the show...also, the money i'd brought for new merchandise became my snobby beer fund when there was no new merchandise...that may have had something to do with it.
i didn't stay and chat too much after the show, just enough for a couple smiles and pictures, then called the guy from the hotel to come pick me up. my last $25.