Avant Enguarde!
Starting with the important stuff, here's the shows:
DREDG - Holy shit, did I get screwed over on this one. As a part of the music conference whatever they had going on out there, the Dredg/Torche show got put on before the showcase that started at the later time. I missed out on Torche entirely, and got to see Dredg take the stage at 7:30. When was the last time you saw a headliner go on before 8? Fuck that.
Other than this mishap that I could have avoided had I lived in Lancaster and seen the individual signs that actually listed the set times of every music conference act during this time, the show was good. Dredg put on an amazing performance, and supplied a bunch of new tunes to their faithful fans. Their fans were really ecstatic about the music, which was a good thing, but a note to the dude standing near me: I know you're really digging on the vibes present, but I'm pretty sure that the band is not interested in your air guitar skills. And playing the air guitar over your head is not making the night any sweeter. Dredg's hard edged atmospheric rock really made the night a trip that was well worth it.
What really bummed me out is that there was an East Of The Wall show in some dude's basement that night as well, and since Dredg/Torche took place so early, I could have seen that show as well if I had played my cards right. Of course, since I did no research as to how to get there from where I was, this didn't happen. I walked around in vain and saw some nice things on the way, but no show. Fuck. Saving money was nice though, since I came home broke at the end of last week.
SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM - Hands down, this may be one of the best shows I have ever seen. SGM was a bit of a gamble, considering how late it was in the school year, but it's one I'm glad I took. SGM puts on one of the best live shows, and the reason I'm saying this is because there is not one friend I have that would not have been totally weirded out by the show this band puts on.
Before I get around to describing how awesome the show was, I have to mention that just before I found my way to the Moose Lodge [and reparked my car so that it was a hell of a lot closer], I finally got around to shopping at the new Siren Records location. I told myself that I would not spend a lot on CD's, and as soon as I said that, I lied. I bought a fair amount of albums, and I still didn't get around to looking over every shelf before they closed, so I have to get back there sometime. I might bring Josh if I can.
The Moose Lodge is pretty boss as a venue, I think. It's got that nice VFW hall feel to it. Intimate, but still large enough for people to run around in. I never thought I would have seen anybody I knew, but I saw a college friend. I could have saved gas and got a ride, but she knew the sound guy, so yeah. The show looked like it was filled with a variety of people who knew their stuff about music. They got a treat indeed.
We Thieves opened up the show, and proved to me why I love going towards Philly. Because local acts down there don't fuck around. These guys had an older-styled guitar playing coupled with some slow, heavy riffs. Reminded me of Kyuss. They were about as heavy as you could get for a three-piece. Really nice. Jekyllinhyde were the next up. Their singer took a lot from the Mike Patton/Les Claypool side of vocals. Their weirdness was balanced out by more plain guitar texture, but was coupled with what I believe is the fastest drumming this side of the Mississip. No kidding. This guy could've given any Dillinger Escape Plan a run for his money. Another reason why Philly is totally awesome, some great bands live in there.
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum took the stage later on. I finally got to see them in action, and was glad I did. As a self-proclaimed "rock against rock" group, they lived up to the name and did things that no rock band would touch with a hundred-foot pole. They spoke in tongues early on, and echoed each other. They also used a variety of instruments, from the standard guitar/bass, to the really obscure. I even saw some of what they invented. I couldn't pick out the electric pancreas, but I did see Dan Rathbun's slide piano log. It was a long log with piano wires on it, and the pickup was moved back and forth. He played the device with those triangular reflex-hammers. Nils Frykdahl ended up going into some of the most outrageous monologues during the set, and seemed quite in touch with the large moose head hanging over the stage. He wasn't on substances either, as I had discussions with him after the set.
SGM played a varied set that included many different styles of music and dipped into performance art quite a bit as well. They arrived onstage in gypsy-styled garb and face paint. SGM's set showed a plenitude of talent, and I would recommend their set to anybody that needs something different in their life. Much of their material is likely newer, as only one song off of "Grand Opening and Closing" was played last. They took a bow when they were done, and it was well deserved.
I thoroughly enjoyed my night. SGM had quite a selection of music from other members' projects, and even some cosmetics and body oils that were naturally manufactured by a member of the group. True artists exist within SGM, and many other groups that exist today should take note.
I was hanging around in the downstairs lodge afterwards with We Thieves. Two out of three members were celebrating their birthday. They made me feel young, as they were in their 30s. I should have picked up some magazines, as they were available up until after the show, but I lost out. Oh well. Next time. I was sad to leave, but it was such a damn good time in Doylestown. Hopefully SGM returns sooner than they usually do. The last time I intended to see them near here, snow cancelled their show, and this was in 2006 or 2007. I hope that SGM doesn't become one of the most closed public institutions as the real SGM was, because I have so many friends that I want to show around. They will receive an opportunity, I hope.
THE ONLY OTHER THING YOU'LL READ ABOUT IN HERE
College. Done with that. For now.
I was enjoying my time a little too much. I walked around a bunch during the nice weather spurt that we had in the area. I also got to enjoy Oblivion's finale and see a kid get powerbombed through a flaming wooden table. Twice. What a sight!
Unfortunately, I did not get around to my work. Once I did, I really didn't know exactly how to approach it each time, or how to effectively stay on task. Most of my writings were awfully late at the end, and I can only cross my fingers as to whether that's getting processed or not. I was really struggling near the end, so I'm not sure how my writing held up to my personal issues. I wanted to do better, so this hinderance should be addressed. I might not even want to go back next year if I still can't get my shit straight after 22+ years. I can't go back if I don't take one summer course, and I still haven't done anything with that.
Stuff really started getting weird towards the end. X hoarded piss in bottles on the bathroom counter. They grew some serious mold before they were dealt with. Vin and his girlfriend started fighting for one day and one day only. Go figure that was when I had a shitload of work to do. Trennell joined in on the sex party, and made fun of Vin for having all his shit be all over the place. Josh is still too busy masturbating to give me a call once in awhile. He's probably bummed 'cause he didn't go to Bamboozle. If I was into 16 year-old camwhores as much as he is, I'd be bummed too.
I moved out of UP on Friday afternoon. I said I was going to leave earlier, but I did not finish my work and hand it in until that afternoon. I want to cross-reference this journal as to when I left last year, because I wanted to do better than last year. If I didn't leave any later than 9:30 last year, I made no improvement at all. I didn't even get to clean my room all the way. I did a significant amount of cleaning, trashing, and moving. I was dead tired after the ordeal, but not tired enough to throw a shopping cart over the balcony. Sweet memories. I played some serious car tetris with my luggage, and this was increasingly difficult since Josh's carpet and my box of product design junk went with me. I raided the staff party before I left and said my goodbyes.
I drove to Convenient and then home. I did this with a 15% view of my right-side window, and about the same amount of clearance for my back window. And I drove through heavy fog. I should seriously get some kind of award for that shit, although not being pulled over for that is a bonus in itself, I guess.
Right now, I am at home. Chef Ricki actually called here, so I know where I'll be working again this summer. In these times, I should be lucky to have something, I guess. I feel a little better about being home, even though Nick is still kind of irritating and he rearranged my CDs. And my mom found Josh's foam bat and assumed that I abused him out of our room last semester. Go figure.
Also, I found my ID. I lost it on the last fucking day at KU, and couldn't get a meal or use the last flex dollars on the plan (some $40) and had problems getting into the building where the gate wasn't open. I checked my RAGE hoodie pocked some five times, and go figure that it was not in there at all when I checked at college, but turned up in there when I checked it at home. Fuck that.
Seriously though, I'm going to get around to some good shit tomorrow. Some phone calls, cashing my refund check (I can't believe I actually got one. Holy shit!) and checking out classes or whatever and other stuff. I forget. Screw it, though. I'm sleeping now.
DREDG - Holy shit, did I get screwed over on this one. As a part of the music conference whatever they had going on out there, the Dredg/Torche show got put on before the showcase that started at the later time. I missed out on Torche entirely, and got to see Dredg take the stage at 7:30. When was the last time you saw a headliner go on before 8? Fuck that.
Other than this mishap that I could have avoided had I lived in Lancaster and seen the individual signs that actually listed the set times of every music conference act during this time, the show was good. Dredg put on an amazing performance, and supplied a bunch of new tunes to their faithful fans. Their fans were really ecstatic about the music, which was a good thing, but a note to the dude standing near me: I know you're really digging on the vibes present, but I'm pretty sure that the band is not interested in your air guitar skills. And playing the air guitar over your head is not making the night any sweeter. Dredg's hard edged atmospheric rock really made the night a trip that was well worth it.
What really bummed me out is that there was an East Of The Wall show in some dude's basement that night as well, and since Dredg/Torche took place so early, I could have seen that show as well if I had played my cards right. Of course, since I did no research as to how to get there from where I was, this didn't happen. I walked around in vain and saw some nice things on the way, but no show. Fuck. Saving money was nice though, since I came home broke at the end of last week.
SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM - Hands down, this may be one of the best shows I have ever seen. SGM was a bit of a gamble, considering how late it was in the school year, but it's one I'm glad I took. SGM puts on one of the best live shows, and the reason I'm saying this is because there is not one friend I have that would not have been totally weirded out by the show this band puts on.
Before I get around to describing how awesome the show was, I have to mention that just before I found my way to the Moose Lodge [and reparked my car so that it was a hell of a lot closer], I finally got around to shopping at the new Siren Records location. I told myself that I would not spend a lot on CD's, and as soon as I said that, I lied. I bought a fair amount of albums, and I still didn't get around to looking over every shelf before they closed, so I have to get back there sometime. I might bring Josh if I can.
The Moose Lodge is pretty boss as a venue, I think. It's got that nice VFW hall feel to it. Intimate, but still large enough for people to run around in. I never thought I would have seen anybody I knew, but I saw a college friend. I could have saved gas and got a ride, but she knew the sound guy, so yeah. The show looked like it was filled with a variety of people who knew their stuff about music. They got a treat indeed.
We Thieves opened up the show, and proved to me why I love going towards Philly. Because local acts down there don't fuck around. These guys had an older-styled guitar playing coupled with some slow, heavy riffs. Reminded me of Kyuss. They were about as heavy as you could get for a three-piece. Really nice. Jekyllinhyde were the next up. Their singer took a lot from the Mike Patton/Les Claypool side of vocals. Their weirdness was balanced out by more plain guitar texture, but was coupled with what I believe is the fastest drumming this side of the Mississip. No kidding. This guy could've given any Dillinger Escape Plan a run for his money. Another reason why Philly is totally awesome, some great bands live in there.
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum took the stage later on. I finally got to see them in action, and was glad I did. As a self-proclaimed "rock against rock" group, they lived up to the name and did things that no rock band would touch with a hundred-foot pole. They spoke in tongues early on, and echoed each other. They also used a variety of instruments, from the standard guitar/bass, to the really obscure. I even saw some of what they invented. I couldn't pick out the electric pancreas, but I did see Dan Rathbun's slide piano log. It was a long log with piano wires on it, and the pickup was moved back and forth. He played the device with those triangular reflex-hammers. Nils Frykdahl ended up going into some of the most outrageous monologues during the set, and seemed quite in touch with the large moose head hanging over the stage. He wasn't on substances either, as I had discussions with him after the set.
SGM played a varied set that included many different styles of music and dipped into performance art quite a bit as well. They arrived onstage in gypsy-styled garb and face paint. SGM's set showed a plenitude of talent, and I would recommend their set to anybody that needs something different in their life. Much of their material is likely newer, as only one song off of "Grand Opening and Closing" was played last. They took a bow when they were done, and it was well deserved.
I thoroughly enjoyed my night. SGM had quite a selection of music from other members' projects, and even some cosmetics and body oils that were naturally manufactured by a member of the group. True artists exist within SGM, and many other groups that exist today should take note.
I was hanging around in the downstairs lodge afterwards with We Thieves. Two out of three members were celebrating their birthday. They made me feel young, as they were in their 30s. I should have picked up some magazines, as they were available up until after the show, but I lost out. Oh well. Next time. I was sad to leave, but it was such a damn good time in Doylestown. Hopefully SGM returns sooner than they usually do. The last time I intended to see them near here, snow cancelled their show, and this was in 2006 or 2007. I hope that SGM doesn't become one of the most closed public institutions as the real SGM was, because I have so many friends that I want to show around. They will receive an opportunity, I hope.
THE ONLY OTHER THING YOU'LL READ ABOUT IN HERE
College. Done with that. For now.
I was enjoying my time a little too much. I walked around a bunch during the nice weather spurt that we had in the area. I also got to enjoy Oblivion's finale and see a kid get powerbombed through a flaming wooden table. Twice. What a sight!
Unfortunately, I did not get around to my work. Once I did, I really didn't know exactly how to approach it each time, or how to effectively stay on task. Most of my writings were awfully late at the end, and I can only cross my fingers as to whether that's getting processed or not. I was really struggling near the end, so I'm not sure how my writing held up to my personal issues. I wanted to do better, so this hinderance should be addressed. I might not even want to go back next year if I still can't get my shit straight after 22+ years. I can't go back if I don't take one summer course, and I still haven't done anything with that.
Stuff really started getting weird towards the end. X hoarded piss in bottles on the bathroom counter. They grew some serious mold before they were dealt with. Vin and his girlfriend started fighting for one day and one day only. Go figure that was when I had a shitload of work to do. Trennell joined in on the sex party, and made fun of Vin for having all his shit be all over the place. Josh is still too busy masturbating to give me a call once in awhile. He's probably bummed 'cause he didn't go to Bamboozle. If I was into 16 year-old camwhores as much as he is, I'd be bummed too.
I moved out of UP on Friday afternoon. I said I was going to leave earlier, but I did not finish my work and hand it in until that afternoon. I want to cross-reference this journal as to when I left last year, because I wanted to do better than last year. If I didn't leave any later than 9:30 last year, I made no improvement at all. I didn't even get to clean my room all the way. I did a significant amount of cleaning, trashing, and moving. I was dead tired after the ordeal, but not tired enough to throw a shopping cart over the balcony. Sweet memories. I played some serious car tetris with my luggage, and this was increasingly difficult since Josh's carpet and my box of product design junk went with me. I raided the staff party before I left and said my goodbyes.
I drove to Convenient and then home. I did this with a 15% view of my right-side window, and about the same amount of clearance for my back window. And I drove through heavy fog. I should seriously get some kind of award for that shit, although not being pulled over for that is a bonus in itself, I guess.
Right now, I am at home. Chef Ricki actually called here, so I know where I'll be working again this summer. In these times, I should be lucky to have something, I guess. I feel a little better about being home, even though Nick is still kind of irritating and he rearranged my CDs. And my mom found Josh's foam bat and assumed that I abused him out of our room last semester. Go figure.
Also, I found my ID. I lost it on the last fucking day at KU, and couldn't get a meal or use the last flex dollars on the plan (some $40) and had problems getting into the building where the gate wasn't open. I checked my RAGE hoodie pocked some five times, and go figure that it was not in there at all when I checked at college, but turned up in there when I checked it at home. Fuck that.
Seriously though, I'm going to get around to some good shit tomorrow. Some phone calls, cashing my refund check (I can't believe I actually got one. Holy shit!) and checking out classes or whatever and other stuff. I forget. Screw it, though. I'm sleeping now.