Philadelphia Freedom
Let's get this part done first. Friday, I saw the Mountain Goats in Philly with Jesse, Bayard, and Alex.
And I dreamt
of a factory
where they manufactured what I needed
using shiny new machines.
Venue: The Theatre of the Living Arts. It was big and draped in red velvet curtains. It had chandeliers and a disco ball. The sound was clear. I leave with a favorable impression.
Seats/Position in Crowd/Up-In-Itness: We were about halfway back, maybe a little less. But I suspect that we'd be Up In It no matter where we were, because, apart from a balcony, there didn't seem to be any place to laze around. It was basically all floor.
OPQ (Old-Person Quotient): Poor. The venue was all GA and standing, and the Mountain Goats didn't come on until 10. But it was a Friday and we were out on the town in Philly, so I didn't much mind.
Opening Act: Megafaun again. We missed most of the set, but, judging from what I did see, it was basically the same as last time, down to the same audience-participation bits.
Setlist: Jesse posted the setlist, as is custom. Again, I heard "Palmcorder Yajna," which is important to me. I heard a song I didn't know before, "Song for an Old Friend," that I enjoyed greatly. The encore was stuffed with shouting for both "No Children" and "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton." I actually knew the songs from All Eternals Deck this time, so I could say, "Anyone who mentions 'Hotel California' dies before the first line leaves his lips!" at the right time in "Liza Forever Minnelli." It was all very pleasing.
High Point: Two encores. "No Children," "Never Quite Free," "This Year," short break, "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton." JD is a master of pleasure-delaying.
Low Point: I wouldn't call this a low point, but I would call it a "Magazines" moment.
Let me explain. (No, let me sum up.) Of course, I love the Hold Steady song "Magazines." (Magazines and daddy issues-how could I not?) But I wouldn't put it in my top 10% of Hold Steady songs. (Hold Steady nerds, we can fight now.) Yet, when they play it, the crowd usually goes crazy for it like it is definitely in the top 10% of Hold Steady songs. I'm happy to see them all pleased, but I don't really get it.
At the Mountain Goats concert, people went crazy for "Woke Up New." Again, fantastic song. Also kind of a bummer, and a quiet one not one that's easy to rock out to at a live show. But again people went nuts for it, and they shouted along like it was "No Children." (I don't know if it's because it came after a bunch of new songs, so people were just happy to hear something they knew, but then again "Color In Your Cheeks" was right before it.) It was cool, but I was just surprised.
Exuberance: JD was certainly exuberant, but the crowd was pretty chill. Again, given that an amped-up crowd could be the most annoying part of any MG show, I'm okay with this.
The day after the show, we hit the town of Philly. The day was all about SCIENCE. We started off by going to the joint Philadelphia Book Festival/Philadelphia Science Festival. Though some of it washed out in the rain, it was really cool that the two were held concurrently. I wouldn't think that I'd enjoy a science fair, but it was awesome and I got to play a Theremin. I wish the Brooklyn Book Festival got some sort of geeky science component.
The highlight, other than the Theremin, was seeing Mary Roach talk about her book about Mars with an astronomer. I learned that a Mars mission would be a whole lot easier if the pesky astronauts didn't want to come back to Earth when they were finished, and also what to do if someone dies in outer space. (Put the body in the airlock to freeze it, obviously, but remember to bring it back in eventually so it doesn't burn up on reentry.)
After that, we did a quick tour of the Mütter Museum. I learned that I'm fine looking at a brain in a jar, but I get squeamish seeing a hand or a foot. My favorite things were the skeleton of a giant (I came up to its pelvic bone), the skeletons of people who had worn corsets (tiny ribcages), the beautiful collection of human inner-ear bones displayed in bell jars, and the highly organized cabinet of objects that a doctor removed from people who had swallowed them. Old-timey doctors were strange, man, for saving/labeling/displaying all of this stuff, but I guess we wouldn't know as much as we do about the human body if they didn't.
In the spirit of those old-timey doctors, here is an organized list of delicious treats I ate: cheesesteak from Dalessandro's, two Philly pretzels, a water ice shake (I know that sounds like it's just water, but it's not), chicken marsala that Alex made, and brunch served in a restaurant that's in a greenhouse. Mmmmmm.
There are a few more if you click, but these are definitely the best. (Unfortunately, photography is prohibited at the Mütter Museum.)
Fine, one more photo, because it might, in fact, be my favorite.
And I dreamt
of a factory
where they manufactured what I needed
using shiny new machines.
Venue: The Theatre of the Living Arts. It was big and draped in red velvet curtains. It had chandeliers and a disco ball. The sound was clear. I leave with a favorable impression.
Seats/Position in Crowd/Up-In-Itness: We were about halfway back, maybe a little less. But I suspect that we'd be Up In It no matter where we were, because, apart from a balcony, there didn't seem to be any place to laze around. It was basically all floor.
OPQ (Old-Person Quotient): Poor. The venue was all GA and standing, and the Mountain Goats didn't come on until 10. But it was a Friday and we were out on the town in Philly, so I didn't much mind.
Opening Act: Megafaun again. We missed most of the set, but, judging from what I did see, it was basically the same as last time, down to the same audience-participation bits.
Setlist: Jesse posted the setlist, as is custom. Again, I heard "Palmcorder Yajna," which is important to me. I heard a song I didn't know before, "Song for an Old Friend," that I enjoyed greatly. The encore was stuffed with shouting for both "No Children" and "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton." I actually knew the songs from All Eternals Deck this time, so I could say, "Anyone who mentions 'Hotel California' dies before the first line leaves his lips!" at the right time in "Liza Forever Minnelli." It was all very pleasing.
High Point: Two encores. "No Children," "Never Quite Free," "This Year," short break, "The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton." JD is a master of pleasure-delaying.
Low Point: I wouldn't call this a low point, but I would call it a "Magazines" moment.
Let me explain. (No, let me sum up.) Of course, I love the Hold Steady song "Magazines." (Magazines and daddy issues-how could I not?) But I wouldn't put it in my top 10% of Hold Steady songs. (Hold Steady nerds, we can fight now.) Yet, when they play it, the crowd usually goes crazy for it like it is definitely in the top 10% of Hold Steady songs. I'm happy to see them all pleased, but I don't really get it.
At the Mountain Goats concert, people went crazy for "Woke Up New." Again, fantastic song. Also kind of a bummer, and a quiet one not one that's easy to rock out to at a live show. But again people went nuts for it, and they shouted along like it was "No Children." (I don't know if it's because it came after a bunch of new songs, so people were just happy to hear something they knew, but then again "Color In Your Cheeks" was right before it.) It was cool, but I was just surprised.
Exuberance: JD was certainly exuberant, but the crowd was pretty chill. Again, given that an amped-up crowd could be the most annoying part of any MG show, I'm okay with this.
The day after the show, we hit the town of Philly. The day was all about SCIENCE. We started off by going to the joint Philadelphia Book Festival/Philadelphia Science Festival. Though some of it washed out in the rain, it was really cool that the two were held concurrently. I wouldn't think that I'd enjoy a science fair, but it was awesome and I got to play a Theremin. I wish the Brooklyn Book Festival got some sort of geeky science component.
The highlight, other than the Theremin, was seeing Mary Roach talk about her book about Mars with an astronomer. I learned that a Mars mission would be a whole lot easier if the pesky astronauts didn't want to come back to Earth when they were finished, and also what to do if someone dies in outer space. (Put the body in the airlock to freeze it, obviously, but remember to bring it back in eventually so it doesn't burn up on reentry.)
After that, we did a quick tour of the Mütter Museum. I learned that I'm fine looking at a brain in a jar, but I get squeamish seeing a hand or a foot. My favorite things were the skeleton of a giant (I came up to its pelvic bone), the skeletons of people who had worn corsets (tiny ribcages), the beautiful collection of human inner-ear bones displayed in bell jars, and the highly organized cabinet of objects that a doctor removed from people who had swallowed them. Old-timey doctors were strange, man, for saving/labeling/displaying all of this stuff, but I guess we wouldn't know as much as we do about the human body if they didn't.
In the spirit of those old-timey doctors, here is an organized list of delicious treats I ate: cheesesteak from Dalessandro's, two Philly pretzels, a water ice shake (I know that sounds like it's just water, but it's not), chicken marsala that Alex made, and brunch served in a restaurant that's in a greenhouse. Mmmmmm.
There are a few more if you click, but these are definitely the best. (Unfortunately, photography is prohibited at the Mütter Museum.)
Fine, one more photo, because it might, in fact, be my favorite.