Monthly Archives: May 2010

So for whatever reason, I got the sudden urge to clean out my closet and get rid of all the stuff that I don’t wear anymore.  Of course I wasn’t hoping to get any money out of it — I don’t wear those kinds of clothes.  But I figured if I can prevent it from going to waste and maybe gain back some of my apartment real estate in the process, everybody wins.

Well today I had at it, and I’m left pissed at all the clothes I piled up.  Sure, there were plenty of old t-shirts and shabby clothes that aren’t much good to anyone who isn’t desperate purely to keep warm.  But there were also loads of perfectly good quality bowling shirts that I used to think were so stylish.  See, back in the early and mid 2000’s, I was all into the clothes of Daddy-O’s.  Girls love the dresses there, but I was all about the bowling shirts.  I can’t knock the quality, because they really make good stuff.  But these days, those things look less rockabilly to me and more… I don’t know… douchey Vegas?  That’s not an across the board indictment, because certainly some guys can still pull it off.  It looks more appropriate on older men, I’d say.  Anyway, my point is that those things aren’t cheap, and so I’m looking at hundreds of my old consulting dollars down the drain.

I am not dumping any of my Hawaiian shirts though, because I have every intention of bringing back the Hawaiian shirt this summer.  You have been warned.

In my digging, I was surprised to find my beloved and practically unused powder blue suede shoes, as well as my real saddle shoes back before you could buy them at Hot Topic.  I came across (and kept) some sweaters and sweater shirts, several PeopleSoft shirts, a few holy skater shirts from middle school.  I had forgotten I even had a t-shirt from Shotgun Willie’s strip club in Denver.  (That’s a consultant story I’ll share in redacted form someday.)  And horror of horrors, I even found some silk boxers!  I had chosen to forget I ever used to wear silk boxers.  And the last remaining proof goes in the garbage tonight.

In fairness, I did unearth some other unnamable corruptions in the back of my closet.  I don’t know if the Dragonfly shirt company is still around, but they should be charged with crimes against humanity for some of the blasphemous garments they supplied to my wardrobe.  Plus, was I like… a raver at one point?  I have all these trippy millennium-era club shirts.  Black and white swirly patterns and weird shimmery materials.  Blanket apology to any woman who had to be seen with me in them.  I almost hesitate to give them to Goodwill, as passing on these dark testaments to the lower bounds of fashion is surely no show of any “good will.”

Now you may be thinking to yourself, “where are the pics?  I want to see these unspeakable things!”  No, you don’t.  Believe me.  You think it will enrich your life, but you are mistaken.

So long black Nike swim trunks with the giant white “swoosh” across the butt.  Goodbye hideous plush polo shirts I used to wear when I started consulting.  Au revoir countless pairs of semi-worn black slacks that span my career from working in a pool store to last year.  Sayonara black satin club/bowling shirt monstrosities.  Adios polo shirts with a stripe across the chest that I used to sport every day in place of the t-shirts I wear now.  Ciao endless piles of white t-shirts that I kept for who knows what reason.  No, I didn’t have to get rid of you today, but you’ve been going to waste in my closet for the last decade.  And the momentary fond memories of 1997-2005 that you brought back to me during this exercise is your final act.

Listening to: Robert Gordon – “Are You Gonna Be The One“

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Well kiddies, I survived the trip to Chicago/Milwaukee with virtually no problems.  Despite all the little things that went wrong along the way, the overall trip was fun and well worth it.  Not to mention the added bonus of expanding my (mentally) allowable travel range a little further than before.  Another step on the path, you know.  I had a non-stop out there, a layover on the way back.  Different airlines, different jet models.  The little puddle jumper was not as stressful as I thought, and I’m a new fan of that big Boeing 777.  So big you can barely even tell you’re in the air, and I almost didn’t notice we had landed.  Plus the bathrooms are huge comparatively… ah, but I digress.  Anyway, if you’re interested in the trip, read on.  Here are some scattered impressions:

1. There’s a certain magic to travelling that I do miss sometimes.  It used to be that I travelled almost every week for work, to the point that I probably took it for granted.  In a taxi heading into downtown Chicago from the airport at dusk, I observed its skyline for the first time.  At once both familiar and foreign.  You could see that it’s a world unto itself.  And I got to thinking about how to millions of people, Chicago is “the city” the way that to me San Francisco is “the city.”  Chicago has its own neighborhoods and character, its own touristy areas and locals-only bars and restaurants, its own scenes and players and hot shots and local celebrities.  And to think that every big city around the country (and even the planet) are each their own little world the way that S.F. is its own little world.  It’s one of those things that makes you feel tiny in the grand scheme of things.  In a word: wonderment.
2. Chicago loves it some brick buildings.  I suppose if San Francisco ever had a bunch, earthquakes would have knocked them down by now.  But I don’t know if it’s an exaggeration to say that half the buildings in Chicago are brick.  Unpainted brick.  Which is to say that a lot of the city is the same color.  But I didn’t dislike it.  It had a ton of character wholly unlike any west coast city I’m aware of.  The scores of burned out factories might be considered “blight” by the locals, but I found it charming.  The library was amazingly decorated on the outside.  And though there were plenty of skyscrapers (including the epic Sears Tower which there sadly wasn’t time to visit), there’s still a lot of open space between buildings which S.F. somehow seems to lack.  Not to mention a river going through the middle of the city.  My evidence, though collected in only a couple days, is based on time walking around the city, through the outskirts, and even riding on the famous elevated subway.
3. Chicago also loves it some flowers.  Tulips to be precise.  Many buildings throughout downtown and really all over the city were landscaped beautifully with these perfect tulips.  All I could think was that in S.F. those would last about two days.  As it was, it gave a certain Disneyland quality to walking around town.  It didn’t hurt that I saw almost no litter anywhere there.
4. Oh, and Chicago also loves it some purple shoes.  Fashion in general was a little off, but it could have just been our proximity to the colleges and their awkward youths.  But whatever the reason, I saw plenty of ridiculous hipsters and more than my fair share of purple shoes.  I don’t get it.  There also seemed to be a trend that I don’t notice around here so much: many young, black women seemed to dress in a sort of traditional 60’s girl group style.  By that I mean nice plaid dresses, tasteful hairstyles, super classy all around.  I much prefer it over what I usually see in the Bay Area.  Maybe it’s a Midwest thing?  Also, I saw virtually no rockabilly folks, but there were some tatted up goth types here and there.
5. This trip reminded me some of old times.  It used to be the with band trips, we’d all pile into the same van and deal with the hassles together.  It seems to breed a certain camaraderie.  Over the years, we’ve all gotten to where we book our own trips and make our own plans with other friends or girlfriends or wives, and band trips end up just like any other trip… and the show itself just happens to be the one time we all meet up.  Well, for this trip we all shared one car and one room, and for all the occasional inconveniences that go along with that arrangement, I think it’s nice to do that every so often… get in the trenches with each other as it were.  Sure, it stretches you comfort zone a little, but the benefits far outweigh the hassle.
6. The food on the trip was decadent and delicious.  We ate at Giordano’s pizza the first night and the famous Gino’s East on the way out of town.  Gino’s deep dish actually did live up to all the hype.  It was amazing.  I had lunch at some point at a place called the Midtown which was also great.  Chicago has several 24-hour combination Baskin Robbins / Dunkin’ Donuts.  They are seriously on every other corner, including directly across the street from our hotel.  I saw at least as many of them as I did Starbucks.
7. We didn’t spend as much time in Milwaukee, but it also had a lot of character.  The last (and only time) I’d ever been there previously was near the end of 2004,  right around the time I first started bloggin’ I think.  It’s a nice town with a liberal feel.  We ate at the equivalent of S.F.’s Ferry Building, and I had a delish made-to-order salad and some juiced apple/beet/strawberry/lime concoction.  Unfortunately that was about all I had time for before it was time to fly home.
8. I guess I should say something about the shows, huh?  The Double Door in Chicago was a big place, and it reminded me of a slightly-smaller Slim’s.  The sound guys were great, and after a rough start, we played a good show.  Astonishingly, there were a few separate people from the San Jose area that happened to be in town and came to the show.  Apparently, this is a hot little place, with such acts as The New York Dolls and The Buzzcocks coming there later in the Spring/Summer.  As for Milwaukee’s Shank Hall, they fully embrace the Spinal Tap tie-in.  They also have a history of some huge acts, which of course I can’t remember now.  But the walls were adorned with autographed publicity photos of those bands.  Hundreds of them.  Smashing Pumpkins, Blue Oyster Cult, The Reverend Horton Heat, and a ton of others.  Anyway, the sound here was great too, and we played well I think.  Because of some logistical issues, we didn’t get a chance to hit the hotel before the show, so I played what I believe is my first ever TCB show where I did not shower immediately before.  I survived, but it is not my preference.  Not only do I feel clean and refreshed, but it helps to clear my head and prepare me for the show.
9. A general comment on the trip… I am again reminded how easy it would be for you and your significant other — and this goes for me too, of course — to just take a quick weekend trip to some far off city for a date/getaway weekend.  If you plan ahead, you’re talking like $200 round trip.  Fly off to Chicago or wherever, some city you don’t really know, and just explore and find new vistas and restaurants, just the two of you.  Sounds like an adventure, doesn’t it?  I don’t know why I haven’t and don’t do that more often.  Seems like such a good idea!
10. On my way out of Milwaukee, one of the TSA ladies took a look at my pedalboard case and laughed at the sticker that reads “I ♥ Hunting Accidents.”  She told me she loved it.  I explained to her that it gets me a lot of dirty looks and I wasn’t sure how wise it was to display it up north, and with a wink she said “yeah, we may be the only two people in this whole state that support it, but I do.”  It made my afternoon.  🙂

OK, I think I’ve bored you enough.  In closing, fun trip!  This weekend, TCB is off to Bakersfield and Fresno, and then the following weekend is our big Slim’s show!  Tell your friends!  Spread the word!  Goodnight all!

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.  If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

— Warren Buffett

Not to start things out on a negative or unnecessarily shocking note but…

I fucking knew it!  Those rat bastards!  I’ve written before about my hate hate hate of scalpers (like here and here), but I think this news takes the proverbial cake.  Turns out that all that time we’ve been grumbling because scalpers always end up with the best tickets to sell… all that time we’ve been gnashing our teeth and cursing that the whole thing must be rigged… well it turns out it was!  I’m sure this isn’t the whole story, but these guys were certainly contributing to the systematic fleecing of fans that’s been such a black mark on the concert-going experience lo these many years.  To the gallows with you fucking snakes!  A pox on all your houses!

OK, I need some good cheer to mellow me out.  This Stephen Lynch video cracks me up.  I think you need to watch it too.  Go on, do it.  I’ll wait.

Did I mention a couple weeks ago that I caught Deadbolt in Oakland again?  The show — for whatever reason — was much better this time around.  There was still police tape lining the stage.  Still sparks flying.  Went home hoarse from all the smoke.  Saw the usual suspects there too of course, and as an added bonus, I was among the first to snag their brand new album “Voodoo Moonshiner” (which features the return of The Mocker).  And when I say I was among the first, I mean the band had literally picked up the first discs on the way to that very gig.  Hot off the presses!

And actually, on the topic of CDs, I’ve been hearing a lot of good music lately.  Notably, The Legendary Shack Shakers have a new album out which is great as usual.  I also finally gave in and picked up that Passion Pit album everyone is so nuts over.  It was alright.  My assessment?  Two parts Daft Punk’s second album, one part The Postal Service, and (unexpectedly) a hint of what I think is Peter Gabriel’s influence.  Strange!

Listening to: Passion Pit – “Manners“

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