Anyhoo.
I hate that expression, Minnesotans. Please, please consider refraining. For the last couple work-weeks, I’ve been writing stored procedures and functions that deal with staffing and finance calculations. It’s very complex and the development has been slow-moving, so I hate it. A lot. Anyway, when I get stuck and am awaiting a breakthrough, I’ve taken to folding in half and staring at the floor, with my head on the desk. It’s the closest I can get to fetal at work. When I sit back up and start typing again, I have a bright red rectangle on my forehead. I’m thinking I could probably train my coworkers to this visual clue: red spot = pissed = AVOID. This is an excellent plan. Yesterday, I got my Foo Fighters tickets at Xcel. I cannot believe I’ve never seen them live, for as much as Dave Grohl is my own personal Jesus (well, after Chris Cornell). I’ve seen Nirvana, but never the Foo Fighters. I will brave the Weezer crowds for this moment in history. The only reason I can even tolerate Beverly Hills is the fact that I was in Beverly Hills the first time I heard it. Ah, memories. We saw Seether with Crossfade and Dark New Day last night at Myth. Now, I didn’t really know what to think about Myth. Greater Mplsland is not known for its concert venues, apart from the world-famous and soon-to-be-destroyed,-I’m-sure-of-it First Ave. Myth is in Maplewood, which is near where I work, all of which is way too near Wisconsin. It’s a former warehouse-sized shoe store located in the Maplewood Mall parking lot next to Toys R Us, and across the street from Pannekoeken. So yeah. You can probably imagine. However! The space is pretty great. It’s set up like Quest, but with a wider floor and no pillars (although the pillars at Quest have saved me from death-by-crushing more than once). It has a women’s room with about 800 stalls. They allow smoking, though. I figured the smoking ban wouldn’t stop people from lighting up any substance at shows, but it really did seem to make a difference. So, the show! I had been tracking Seether’s tour forEVER waiting for dates here. I expected I’d like Crossfade, but was eh about Dark New Day; it ended up being the opposite. Dark New Day had 1) great energy and 2) hotness. Crossfade had 1) really shitty sound and 2) an uneasy detachment from everything, including possibly reality. Stephanie liked them more than I did. At the end of the set, Crossfade did the thing where they toss half the contents of the stage into the crowd: towels, water bottles, guitar picks, drumsticks and such. One of the dudes tossed a couple copies of the set list in our direction; I thought it had gone far behind us until I noticed the girls next to me searching the floor. As I turned to look myself, Stephanie muttered, ‘I have it’. She said it so nonchalantly, I thought she was joking. But no, she had plucked it from the air and pocketed it before anyone noticed. Mad skillz! After Seether, I needed some time alone. I dunno, I just love them a lot. They’re one of those bands that make you rock out and not care who sees your cock out. We were amazed we’d never noticed how much the singer (whose name I should probably learn if I intend to spend the rest of my life with him) channels Kurt Cobain. It’s freaky to watch. The mannerisms and vocal inflection are the same; he’s only lacking the smack habit. Also, he’s goofy as hell. They were so fucking great live, and they played the Deftones, and we were so close to the stage, and and and!! Siiigh. And that’s another thing. What the hell? So, I was maybe six feet from the barrier in front of the stage. At any other show, in that proximity, one expects to be either a) trampled in the mosh pit, b) having to pass crowd surfers overhead, c) barely able to breathe from the crush of people, and wading in beer. This was not the case there. Even though there was awesome energy coming from the stage, the people were scared to move. I think security quashed the 2 kids slam-dancing. Sad. Also also, what was up with all the mackin’ 20-year-olds? Hello, I am OLD. Also, ‘hey ladies, enjoying the show?’ is an introductory line worthy of a throat-punch, just FYI. When ‘I’ve been working out, want to feel my arm?’ dude has 900% more charisma than you, there’s a problem. Now to change it up completely, this: I’m going out of town this weekend for a funeral. My great-uncle passed away on Wednesday, his birthday. A couple people pointed out that’s like completing the full circle; I find that a comforting thought. His death isn’t a surprise, but still. This leaves my grandma and great-aunt alone up there in northern Wisconsin, which is very sad. So we’re heading up to the U.P. early tomorrow morning, and will be returning Sunday night. The siblings and I are fully traumatized at the news of Putt-n-Batt closing. No more batting cages or Skee-ball or crappy minigolf. I guess we’re going to have to start frequenting the pirate-themed bar on the waterfront. Sad prospect, indeed. I hear tell I’m getting a private going-away party tonight before I head out of town at the buttcrack of dawn tomorrow. There’s always a bright side, you know. It’s pouring. Is my sunroof closed? Shit.Jenni