Kristin Hersh, Music Millenium, Portland

her husband (or someone who i'm 90% sure is her husband) introduced her after "tuning" her guitar. he said she'd be back with a band and a proper show in mid- to late-may. he said the in-stores were a promotional tour.

she strummed a chord after getting on stage. "this sounds funky, and not in a good way," she said and re-tuned. the short set was over half from the new album, drumming up interest, engaging in the need to sell one's art in order to live off it.

i got there at quarter til, early enough to get close, but late enough to miss a seat in the couches in front of the stage. by the end of the show i looked around and saw that i was quite close, relatively speaking, to the stage. it was a small crowd, but clearly we were the dedicated few. there was one guy spastically dancing, one girl bopping around, and the lesbians, several months later, who i remember making out at the jimmy maks show back in august or september; the affectionate display was less pornographic this time.

when she played "gazebo tree" (which, unless i've got the songs confused, is based on a conversation she had on a bus in chicago) i harkened back to when i figured out "close your eyes" on guitar--i still lived with my mother, and i'm pretty sure my rendition at the time bordered on torture (sorry, mom). she didn't play "close your eyes", but she ended on "your ghost"--i had to restrain myself from filling in the michael stipe backing vocals from the album (you're welcome in-store crowd!).

she played "your dirty answer", introducing it as off of sunny border blue, to which an audience member hooted. "ahh, so you're the one who bought it," kristin quipped. "i have it, too, but i didn't have to pay for it."

and, hence, the promotional tour. pimping the new cd ($12.99 on sale now at music millenium!!!) to an audience who apparently has become somewhat indifferent. they played tracks from the new cd before and after the show, and it's good. i'll get it soon for sure, but my dough is all tied up in food and rent at the moment (you know, futures (and a little presents)). and looking forward to when i do get it, i should be good and ready to torture my roommate with some new kh tracks having seen her play some of them live already.

as an afterthought, i really should've taken her up on her offer of signing my (or anyone's) nipples. oh well, next time, i guess...

Sparklehorse, Wonder Ballroom, Portland, OR, USA

it was a good show, it wasn't a great show. lots of little things could've made it better, but mostly just a few more songs. i've waited a long time to see them play for an hour (including the encore). and the shocker is, it was heavily weighted on the first record, which should've been a good thing, but ended up being problematic. i love vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, don't get me wrong, but it seemed like they were intentionally playing songs that most of the audience didn't know. which kept their energy low, which gave the band less to feed off of, who gave the audience less to feed off of.

there were highlights, too. the transition from studio to stage was interesting to witness. linkous does so many weird, choppy changes in the studio that it was cool to see how it translated. there were several instances where i could tell everyone was just following/trying to keep up, and that sort of tension can be cool. drums filling until the beat becomes apparent, different leads bobbing and weaving until the tension breaks and the resolution flows.

and ending on the most beautiful widow wasn't a bad idea (though the audience talking through it was an... interesting... touch).

in all, it was a good show with a less-than-stellar audience and some questionable choices. add to that the soundguy's obvious lack of experience or skill, and i guess it was better than should've been expected. i'll be happy to see them again because what they can fix i think they will. and what was out of their control i won't hold against them.

a twenty-year old girl hit on me at a swimming pool

She was cute, but obviously young. She said, "I don't normally do this, but..." She was cute and mulatto and had a youthful spatter of acne. I asked how old she was and she replied "twenty." I was flattered, but no.

It was a dream...

dreamscapes v. 1.0

I was in the grocery store close to closing. I was looking for soup and deodorant.

This dream closely followed a dream where I watched as others cooked some food and Lindsey (Helskel's friend and mine) had a Sci-Fi radio show. "Aah, now I see the connection," I said.

Anyway, I was at the grocery store looking for soup and deodorant. I had an open PBR in my hand and another closed one to purchase. I couldn't find my brand of deodorant, so I tried to smell the Degree--I couldn't. They turned off the music to indicate the store was about to close (a la "last call"). There were two lanes open, both of which had long lines. I get into one of them and realize I don't have my purchases, but I do have a bag with a long box that resembles a box of some-assembly-required furniture/shelving. Am I returning it? I guess so. But I don't have my soup, so I go back to the aisle and see the soup on the floor (Campbell's Vegetable, low sodium soup, just to be specific), and the unopened PBR is next to it, but the PBR is neither standing straight up, nor is it on its side. It's at about a 60-70 degree angle. I pick up the beer and the soup and decide I'll wait on the deodorant until I can find my brand, reasoning that I have enough to get through tomorrow.

I head back to the checkout line with the cans and the bag with the box of what may be shelving, but before I get back in line I'm walking down a dark street lit by a full moon. It's a beautiful night, and the grass on the side of the road makes an impression. But I didn't pay for my purchases... I must be in a dream, I think to myself, and jerk my body forward in an attempt to wake up. I'd hate to be sleeping in the middle of the aisle at the Fred Meyer. My attempts to wake up are to no avail, but the night is nice. I lie on the grass and look at the moon. I feel myself getting tired, and figure the worst that can happen is that I'll wake up at the grocery store, but I'll probably just get some shut-eye. The last things I see as I go to sleep are my legs and feet framed by the grass with the black asphalt of the street behind the grass. The moon lights my dimming view.

I wake up.

brainy internet quiz time

One of the letters has changed since college, but it's still pretty accurate. Thanks to Helskel for the post idea...

I am an...

INFJ - "Author". Strong drive and enjoyment to help others. Complex personality. 1.5% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

What are you?