Too hot for a subject line.
Got back a while ago from a pre-birthday brunch with mmeguilotn, natacup82, and riadsala, in which there was delicious french toast, bacon that was actually crispy (I know, right?!), and mimosas, so I finally got to use (two thirds of) my bottle of champagne I've had hanging around for the past few years. Still tasty! Now to figure out if there's anything I can make with it, or if I should just drink the rest.
My actual birthday plans are to get ready for work on Monday, which entails all of the laundry, and possibly hit up Borders at some point, and see if the couple of books I want are on sale for a good price. Since probably everyone and their brother will be having the same idea, I'm expecting a mad house, but at least it will be an air conditioned mad house. I know, how exciting, right? Maybe I'll even go crazy and use my Coldstone coupon and get discounted ice cream!
***
You have probably been hearing this from everyone you know who lives in the northeast US right now, but jesus fuck it is hot outside. I ended up driving to my concert last night because I was just not willing to wait for the train in weather that felt like 100+ degrees outside, and then have to walk from the train station to the venue. So, I had to pay for parking, but it wasn't that much more than a train ticket, and I could be air conditioned on the way there and back. Good plan all around, I think.
And speaking of the concert, Alison Krauss & Union Station were wonderful! Worth absolutely every penny I paid for the ticket. Their opener, Jeremy Lister, was quite good, too. Apparently, he and his brother, who played keyboards and sang backing vocals for him, were on The Sing-Off, the acapella choir competition show that was on NBC last year. Here's a video of his group, Street Corner Symphony, singing Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears For Fears. They are actually pretty fantastic, and I'm not a super big fan of acapella.
And then Alison Krauss & Union Station! That is an incredibly talented bunch of musicians, right there. They are all fantastic at their chosen instruments, and everyone got a chance to show off and be great. Jerry Douglass, who is their Dobro player, and apparently widely considered to be one of the best around, was just incredible. I'm a big fan of the Dobro to begin with, but he really blew me away. And Ron Block, who plays banjo, was just ridiculous. Also, Alison Krauss not only has a gorgeous voice, and can play the hell out of the fiddle, but she's also one of the most adorable human beings alive.
They played for about two hours, and their set was a really nice mix of old and new stuff, both Alison's solo stuff and Union Station stuff, and even something from the record Alison did with Robert Plant. I'm super glad I listened to the new album before the show, though, since they played about half of it. They had a drummer/percussionist and a keyboard player who came out and played occasionally, but mostly it was just the five of them. And for their encore, they came out and played unplugged, crowded around one microphone.
Set List
Paper Airplane
Dust Bowl Children
Instrumental
Daylight
Sinking Stone
Let Me Touch You For Awhile
Ghost In This House
Baby, Now That I've Found You
Rain Please Go Away
Sawing On The Strings
Wild Bill Jones
Every Time You Say Goodbye
Dobro Instrumental
Pastures Of Plenty
The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn
Dimming Of The Day
Faraway Land
Stay
Bonita And Bill Butler
Miles To Go
Man Of Constant Sorrow
Any Old Time
Oh, Atlanta
Encore:
When You Say Nothing At All
Down To The River To Pray
Your Long Journey
There Is A Reason
It was such a good time, you guys! If you are at all a fan of Alison Krauss & Union Station, or just bluegrass in general, and you can afford it (it wasn't that expensive, but I was really happy to have a credit card when tickets went on sale, lol), this show cannot be missed. Also, spending three hours in a really nice air conditioned theatre wasn't bad, either. :D
***
I have all of the thoughts about this week's episode of Torchwood, most of which boil down to: Jane Espenson, never leave us! I really enjoyed it, and I want to make an actual thinky post about it soon, but that will most likely require a re-watch, and it is way too hot to engage my brain in that way today.
So I think I will just go sit underneath an air conditioning vent in my underwear until it is cool enough to do laundry without heating up my entire apartment. For those of you who are experiencing this heat wave right now, too, stay cool!
My actual birthday plans are to get ready for work on Monday, which entails all of the laundry, and possibly hit up Borders at some point, and see if the couple of books I want are on sale for a good price. Since probably everyone and their brother will be having the same idea, I'm expecting a mad house, but at least it will be an air conditioned mad house. I know, how exciting, right? Maybe I'll even go crazy and use my Coldstone coupon and get discounted ice cream!
***
You have probably been hearing this from everyone you know who lives in the northeast US right now, but jesus fuck it is hot outside. I ended up driving to my concert last night because I was just not willing to wait for the train in weather that felt like 100+ degrees outside, and then have to walk from the train station to the venue. So, I had to pay for parking, but it wasn't that much more than a train ticket, and I could be air conditioned on the way there and back. Good plan all around, I think.
And speaking of the concert, Alison Krauss & Union Station were wonderful! Worth absolutely every penny I paid for the ticket. Their opener, Jeremy Lister, was quite good, too. Apparently, he and his brother, who played keyboards and sang backing vocals for him, were on The Sing-Off, the acapella choir competition show that was on NBC last year. Here's a video of his group, Street Corner Symphony, singing Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears For Fears. They are actually pretty fantastic, and I'm not a super big fan of acapella.
And then Alison Krauss & Union Station! That is an incredibly talented bunch of musicians, right there. They are all fantastic at their chosen instruments, and everyone got a chance to show off and be great. Jerry Douglass, who is their Dobro player, and apparently widely considered to be one of the best around, was just incredible. I'm a big fan of the Dobro to begin with, but he really blew me away. And Ron Block, who plays banjo, was just ridiculous. Also, Alison Krauss not only has a gorgeous voice, and can play the hell out of the fiddle, but she's also one of the most adorable human beings alive.
They played for about two hours, and their set was a really nice mix of old and new stuff, both Alison's solo stuff and Union Station stuff, and even something from the record Alison did with Robert Plant. I'm super glad I listened to the new album before the show, though, since they played about half of it. They had a drummer/percussionist and a keyboard player who came out and played occasionally, but mostly it was just the five of them. And for their encore, they came out and played unplugged, crowded around one microphone.
Set List
Paper Airplane
Dust Bowl Children
Instrumental
Daylight
Sinking Stone
Let Me Touch You For Awhile
Ghost In This House
Baby, Now That I've Found You
Rain Please Go Away
Sawing On The Strings
Wild Bill Jones
Every Time You Say Goodbye
Dobro Instrumental
Pastures Of Plenty
The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn
Dimming Of The Day
Faraway Land
Stay
Bonita And Bill Butler
Miles To Go
Man Of Constant Sorrow
Any Old Time
Oh, Atlanta
Encore:
When You Say Nothing At All
Down To The River To Pray
Your Long Journey
There Is A Reason
It was such a good time, you guys! If you are at all a fan of Alison Krauss & Union Station, or just bluegrass in general, and you can afford it (it wasn't that expensive, but I was really happy to have a credit card when tickets went on sale, lol), this show cannot be missed. Also, spending three hours in a really nice air conditioned theatre wasn't bad, either. :D
***
I have all of the thoughts about this week's episode of Torchwood, most of which boil down to: Jane Espenson, never leave us! I really enjoyed it, and I want to make an actual thinky post about it soon, but that will most likely require a re-watch, and it is way too hot to engage my brain in that way today.
So I think I will just go sit underneath an air conditioning vent in my underwear until it is cool enough to do laundry without heating up my entire apartment. For those of you who are experiencing this heat wave right now, too, stay cool!