Boogie Birthday
Crashy start to the day, but a good ending! I went from barely coherent in the afternoon to waking up fully by the evening (like a vampire, I rise at sunset) in the evening. Brad brought me a tiny flourless chocolate cake with a candle in it and a mushy card, awwwww. I would pretend not to be affected by the cuteness but it is so very cute. I also pigged out on Thanksgiving leftovers. I was even ready by the time aelfsciene arrived! We fortified ourselves with the rest of the cake (really more like a brownie) and ice cream and caramel sauce, and then headed out to the show. The one flaw in the ointment was the cute but not very comfortable shoes I wore, which started causing me problems halfway downtown.
We got there a bit before the doors opened and cruised Logos a bit, though without a lot of real buying intent since we didn't have any bags so couldn't buy any books that wouldn't fit in my pockets; I picked up some used CDs (they did fit) and didn't find out until much later that they forgot to put my CD in one, argh, so I had just bought the jacket. Will send Brad down tomorrow with the CD and receipt if I'm too creaky to go myself.
The opening band, the Pyronauts, was really fun! Last time I saw the Red Elvises they didn't have an opening band, and the time before that... it was lackluster. This group had a ball even with the small opening attendance, and we had a ball watching them. They play surf guitar with a metal edge, and as well as the surf guitarness of it all had a lot of fun little riffs like synchronized guitar movement and some great hair band headbanging moments. Their mood was infectious and even though I was feeling a bit creaky after my walk down I was able to get up and dance one number for my first real exercise in... way too long. I don't usually dance a ton to surf guitar, but this was fun. There was even a guitar chicken fight! I should've brought my camera. I got their Christmas surf guitar CD (Christmas music I can stand, yay!) and their CD of original music. They also had one that covered all the favorites but I was low on money, and I liked their original music a lot.
Igor and the Red Elvises... "I'll just sit here and watch the coats; you go up and dance." Yeah right. We were in early enough so that I got one of the five chairs, which was very very good given my current shape, but given all of the Very Tall people dancing in front of my chair, and the music itself... I spent most of their sets out of the chair rather than in it. I was nervous about Oleg leaving, since I adore him, but I am super pleased with the new members. Oh, I miss the balaika, but they managed to do "Strip Joint is Closed" WITHOUT Oleg... with Milka Ramos managing a similar whiskey huskiness... wooo. Let's see... 200 Flying Girls, My Love is Killing Me, Love Rocket, Rocketman (with audience participation of course), a stunning Sad Cowboy Song with a truly epic drum solo and conga line ("because that's what cowboys do")... old favorites and a few new... I think the only thing I really missed is a song they don't play every time anyhow, "This Music Is Wasted If We Don't Dance." I'd never heard the surprisingly danceable "Drinking With Jesus" before -- clearly I need to get their latest album.
I have no idea how they manage to tour so much; just reading their tour schedule makes me tired. But I'm happy they keep coming back to Santa Cruz!
I knew I would be trashed tomorrow anyhow, so there was no reason not to then hit the Saturn for their yummy chai and some deliciously creamy pumpkin ice cream. When I got home, my foolish shoes had opened up my heel so there was a bit of wee bit of cussing as I zapped them with H202. While I can claim that it was the dancing that did it, actually they were pretty good for dancing (since I wasn't super vigorous and I avoided conga-ing) and it was the walking to and from the club that got me. Still, it's pretty awesome to be able to walk to a club and not have to worry about how much anyone is drinking. Just, next time I try that, I'll wear better shoes! (The cute/practical line on shoes is sort of like the hot/crazy line from How I Met Your Mother.)
We got there a bit before the doors opened and cruised Logos a bit, though without a lot of real buying intent since we didn't have any bags so couldn't buy any books that wouldn't fit in my pockets; I picked up some used CDs (they did fit) and didn't find out until much later that they forgot to put my CD in one, argh, so I had just bought the jacket. Will send Brad down tomorrow with the CD and receipt if I'm too creaky to go myself.
The opening band, the Pyronauts, was really fun! Last time I saw the Red Elvises they didn't have an opening band, and the time before that... it was lackluster. This group had a ball even with the small opening attendance, and we had a ball watching them. They play surf guitar with a metal edge, and as well as the surf guitarness of it all had a lot of fun little riffs like synchronized guitar movement and some great hair band headbanging moments. Their mood was infectious and even though I was feeling a bit creaky after my walk down I was able to get up and dance one number for my first real exercise in... way too long. I don't usually dance a ton to surf guitar, but this was fun. There was even a guitar chicken fight! I should've brought my camera. I got their Christmas surf guitar CD (Christmas music I can stand, yay!) and their CD of original music. They also had one that covered all the favorites but I was low on money, and I liked their original music a lot.
Igor and the Red Elvises... "I'll just sit here and watch the coats; you go up and dance." Yeah right. We were in early enough so that I got one of the five chairs, which was very very good given my current shape, but given all of the Very Tall people dancing in front of my chair, and the music itself... I spent most of their sets out of the chair rather than in it. I was nervous about Oleg leaving, since I adore him, but I am super pleased with the new members. Oh, I miss the balaika, but they managed to do "Strip Joint is Closed" WITHOUT Oleg... with Milka Ramos managing a similar whiskey huskiness... wooo. Let's see... 200 Flying Girls, My Love is Killing Me, Love Rocket, Rocketman (with audience participation of course), a stunning Sad Cowboy Song with a truly epic drum solo and conga line ("because that's what cowboys do")... old favorites and a few new... I think the only thing I really missed is a song they don't play every time anyhow, "This Music Is Wasted If We Don't Dance." I'd never heard the surprisingly danceable "Drinking With Jesus" before -- clearly I need to get their latest album.
I have no idea how they manage to tour so much; just reading their tour schedule makes me tired. But I'm happy they keep coming back to Santa Cruz!
I knew I would be trashed tomorrow anyhow, so there was no reason not to then hit the Saturn for their yummy chai and some deliciously creamy pumpkin ice cream. When I got home, my foolish shoes had opened up my heel so there was a bit of wee bit of cussing as I zapped them with H202. While I can claim that it was the dancing that did it, actually they were pretty good for dancing (since I wasn't super vigorous and I avoided conga-ing) and it was the walking to and from the club that got me. Still, it's pretty awesome to be able to walk to a club and not have to worry about how much anyone is drinking. Just, next time I try that, I'll wear better shoes! (The cute/practical line on shoes is sort of like the hot/crazy line from How I Met Your Mother.)