float on

Last thursday after work, me & jacq headed over to ben's place for a going away bbq for allison, who was a couple hours late to her own party. Randomly enough, she's moving to chicago to live with raz.

Friday steph came over for dinner & a movie. We kept it pretty casual since steph had to go train with her running group nice and early. The timing was great, because by the time she returned I was whipping up breakfast. One of steph's friends was having her annual b-day bash camping on the Platte in the Pike Nat’l. Forest just west of Sedalia. We headed up there mid-day, and missed the tubing expedition that had left earlier in the morning. We hung out with a few folks who weren't tubing, then saw everyone returning from their adventure - bruised, bloody, and drunk. They pushed-in way up the river and had been floating for a few hours. One guy had made a kick-ass waterproof boombox with some waterproof motorboat speakers and a cooler to accompany them on their journey. We hung around for a bit longer than headed out right around dusk. Next year, we'll have to tube for sure - it looked like a lot of fun.

Sunday we chillaxed around milo and watched the season premiere of Mad Men.

pitchfork '08 sunday

Sunday we met up with Wink for brunch at some place in Wicker Park, then he dropped us at the festy. Turned out to be a super sunny day, and most of the mud from the day before had dried or was mulched over. The first band of the day was Times New Viking, who sounded better than on their record, a little 'fuller' without the overwhelming treble assault. Next up was the Dirty Projectors, who were a pleasant surprise despite some PA problems with the vocals. I only have their most recent disc, Rise Above, their homage to Black Flag's Damaged. The new material they played has me eager to hear their upcoming release.



We had a bit of a break to go recharge with some lunch and brews before the Apples in Stereo took the stage. Super cheery as always, they had us dancing and singing along and such.



Next up was Les Savy Fav, who I was extremely stoked to see. I love these guys, and the lead singer is a total nutter live. He had all sorts of batshit crazy costumes as well as a video camera attached to his head band, which the y would cut to on the jumbo screens every now and again while he foraged into the audience. During one such exploration, seemingly out of now where and right next us he was suddenly hoisted up by the crowd inside of a trash bin. Killer set and they closed with the Superchunk track, 'Precision Auto' - wicked!



There was a bit of a scheduling snafu with some of the requisite Wu-Tang members who were slotted to play the main stage next, which moved the Dodos into that slot instead. I was more than psyched about this since they were originally scheduled to play the third stage during Spiritualized - boo. Anyway, I'm glad the Wu was stoned, or late, or both because the Dodos were spot on live, including some very impressive trash can playing.

After they played, we grabbed some dinner. I had this delicious cevapichi wrap, and I was stoked because when I had it last year they had run out of the garlic red pepper sauce. So when it was time to add that on, I over compensated a bit and my wrap was swimming in it, which would have been just dandy, except I wound up dropping it into steph's nice white cloth purse bag - oops!No time to worry about it as we headed over for Spiritualized's set which was awesome, it reminded me of an indie rock Pink Floyd with his backup singers. Looking very much forward to a full set at the end of september when they come through denver.



Caught the first 20 minutes or so of Dinosaur Jr.'s set before heading over to the third stage for Cut/Copy, who were a no-show. Total bummer, because we had planned on capping off the weekend with their set, and missed Dinosaur Jr. to do so. Oh well, the rest of the day was pretty sweet. I guess they wound up making it 2 1/2 hours later and played 4 songs. But we were already back at the hotey.

It was raining again in the morning, but we were heading home so no biggy. The flight was fairly uneventful, I realized I had already read all the magazines I brought on the way there, but I did see a bunch of cool crop patterns.



Got home to milo and there was a big ol' rainbow there to greet us.



Chilled out the rest of the night, then tuesday went over to stpeh's to sync up with the cable guy. We also amused ourselves by trying to make bowls out of old records. It was more difficult than it looked, mainly because we were using some really old records that were pretty thick.

pitchfork '08 saturday

Saturday we slept in as late as possy, since we didn't get to bed until 5am. Got up in kind of a daze, I almost left the tix in the hotey. Luckily steph realized while we were only a few blocks away on the train. I was able to get off at the next stop and jog (soft j) back to get them. It was kind of overcast and sprinkling a bit, and once we got in we mowed some food. Watched a bit of the Caribou set when it started raining a bit heavier so we meandered over to the other stage which was packed to get a decent spot for Fleet Foxes. They played a solid set, but the snail tempo of their tunes coupled with the gray, wet skies was a bit of a downer.



Soon it cleared up and Dizzee Rascal picked up the pace of the day with an energetic set.



We snacked on some pizza before Vampire Weekend took the main stage. We were kind of far away because a huge crowd had already formed by the main stage during Dizzee's set, so we just kind of stayed where we were. I remember enjoying their set, but steph decided she was on the outs with them afterwards. She mentioned that they kept flubbing notes and such which I didn't hear, but then again I was singing along rather loudly so who knows?



Immediately after the VW set we hurried over to the third stage to catch the rest of Elf Power, who played a great set despite the fact that keyboardist Laura Carter seemed to be missing from the fold.



And immediately after their set we hurried back to the second stage to watch !!!, who had just started playing. As we were moving up closer to the stage, I saw some kid with a Rockies hat that turned out to be one of steph's old high school classmates - random. The !!! set was justified indeed (I kept calling them the next coming of the KLF- hahaha).



We finally had a little bit of break so we got some dinner (a hodge podge of thai dishes) and did a little shopping.



The last band of the day we were interested in catching was No Age, and they blistered through their closing spot on the third stage. And to close it off their current tour mates, Abe Vigoda, joined them on stage for a couple of songs. Hopped on the train and headed back to the hotey, passing out pretty early.

all that jazz

Still in a bit of a haze from wEEn from the night before, we got up bright & early to head to the airport. We got their with plenty of time to spare so we had a casual sit down breakfast with some bloodys. The flight was uneventful, steph slept the whole way and I read some magazines. Took the blue train into the city where I promptly got us lost, because I had misread the directions from the hotel website. So we walked a few extra blocks, but finally made it to the Silversmith which was way nicer than the busted hotey we stayed at last year. The room had a mini fridge and a cd player, and we had a CTA stop right out front that serviced 4 lines (the other 2 were only a block away). I immediately went on a brief adventure to get the fridge stocked. Who knew you could get brews at CVS? We took it easy for a while and eventually went and got some excellent deep dish pizza at Gino's East. Made it back to the hotey just in time for the complimentary 'desert bar' in the lobby, made some loose plans for the next day, then hit hay.

The next morning while steph hit the gym to keep up with her marathon training, I picked up some breakfast at dunkin donuts across the street. The we packed up a bag and headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art to check out the Jeff Koons exhibit. This guy went through several different periods of varied art using all different kinds of media, including some porno with his then-wife Cicciolina. My favorite were the massive steel sculptures, and the solid aluminum 'inflatables'.



From there it was only a couple blocks walk to one of the beaches along LSD. Lake Michigan was a bit chilly, but it was hot enough out for several dips.



After we had our fun in the sun, we strolled down the 'magic mile' and stopped and grabbed some lunch at an italian deli underneath the Hancock tower. Then we headed back to the hotey, cleaned up a bit and did a bit of shopping nearby - picked up a sweet disc from Reckless, but the dang cd player in our room was acting up. Oh well, it was off to the southside to catch the White Sox take on the Royals. The subway was packed and we got there about halfway through the bottom of the first inning and the sox had already taken a sizable lead which lasted the rest of the game. We headed out during the 7th so we could beat the mobs on the train.





The night was still young so we headed down to some bar called the West End (no relation to the one here) to meet up with wink. There was a line to get in, but the girls Wink was with knew the bouncer so we skipped ahead. Apparently it was someone's engagement party or su'in, and was kind of beat. So after a coupel rounds of red bull / vodka shots we walked back to Wink's place and played guitron hero into the wee hours - steph absolutely rocked. I was not so good. Wink drove us back to our hotey at around 5 in the morning. Phew - what a day!

Stayed tuned, more to come...

ween

Ween was in town tuesday through thrursday last week, and due to circumstances beyond my control, I was only able to catch one show, but what a show it was! If you're curious, the circumstances are as follows:

1. The tuesday show was a 'secret' show in a 300 person venue up in Fort Collins announced at the last minute. I would have had to take the whole day off to even get a place in line up there, and I had a bunch of stuff to finish up before I took off for a week vacation - boo.

2. A week before ween announced this latest round of tour dates, we booked our departing flight to chicago for thursday.

No worries though because the wednesday show ripped! Me, jacq and steph headed into town after they got out of work and we swung by a friend of jen & jeff's place that they were housesitting at for some pre action. Then walked a few blocks to the venue where we saw some more pals then promptly lost everyone. The show was a high energy deaner night, and included some real gems - 'beacon light', 'flutes of chi', 'touch my tooter', 'final alarm', 'captain fantasy', and a stellar 'poopship' encore. You can grab a recording of the show over at Brown Tracker.



Set:
Exactly Where I'm At
The H.I.V. Song
Ice Castles
Golden Eel
The Stallion (Pt. 3)
Voodoo Lady
Your Party
Light Me Up
The Argus
Waving My Dick in the Wind
Mr. Richard Smoker
Touch My Tooter
Even if You Don't
Object
Beacon Light
Flutes of Chi
Zoloft
I'll Be Your Johnny on the Spot
Mister, Would You Please Help My Pony?
The Stallion (Pt. 5)
Final Alarm
Tender Situation
The Mollusk
Pandy Fackler
Got to Put the Hammer Down
Captain Fantasy
You Fucked Up
Ocean Man
Reggaejunkiejew
Encore:
Fiesta
Poopship Destroyer

calm before the storm

Friday night we were going to try and catch Girl Talk spin at the Fox, but it was the hottest ticket in town - sold out earlier in the week and scalping for upwards of $50 on craigslist. So we had a casual night instead, since next week was going to be pretty hectic. Picked up some burritos and watched I'm Not There which was confusing. The best parts were the Cate Blanchett scenes voiced by Stephen Malkmus.

Steph ran 11 miles around the rez the next morning, and I slept in, not totally intentionally. Steph's room is din the basement and there is only one small window down there in the bathroom, so time eludes you rather easily. When steph returned I made breakfast before we biked down to Tee & Cakes, so I could use my gift certificate I got from donating loot to 1190. Also hit up Urban's and the West End for a beer. Then we went to the pool with Anne, David, Greg and Lisa for awhile, stopping to feed/play with Oliver on the way. Later we grilled out at Greg's, steph got sick, and we went home.

Sunday we Waited for the cable guy from 10-12 to no avail - they wound up calling at like 1.45 but we had since biked down to get some slices and hang in SoBo, including getting a tomato cage and a quick look at savers where we bought this old school flannel sheet for use as a blanket for the Pitchfork Festival next week. I went back over to jacq's while Steph did some travel shopping. We met up again and hung at Milo, made dinner and watched the new Manchurian Candidate.

goose lips

Met up with Steph Wednesday night to get packed up for the holiday camping trip. Ran to walt mink to get supplies and had dinner. Thursday morning was cas, as we had the day off to get up to Evergreen before everyone else and scope out the site and set up. On the way out of town, we stopped to get darts so I could finally use the dartboard Jean made me with a collage of a bunch of celebrities that annoy me. Got to Evergreen around noon, had lunch at the Bagelry, stocked the beer cooler with ice and were on our way to the Maxwell Falls campground. We found a pristine spot, not too far from the parking lot, but tucked away from the main trail. We set up a sweet campsite, straight out of the REI catalog, complete with hammock.

Unfortunately the dart board didn't quite work out - if you missed the board the dart disappeared into the ground popping the flight off, I have darts now so I can set it back up in my basement at least. Chopped a hefty amount of firewood and had a 5 minute rain scare. A scrappy looking fox paid us a visit and steph snapped some quick shots (it should be noted that I left my digi cam at home like a dumbass so all the photos are old fashion film style and yet to be developed). The rest of the gang - Greg & Lisa, Jacq & Andy - joined us later. We built a fire and had some grilled pizzas for dinner. A few party goers even stopped by to join the festivities (it is THE party campground).

The next day was the fourth - we were casual to rise and feasted on a southern style b-fast of shrimp 'n grits. Yum! The rest of the morning was spent chopping more firewood and lounging. In the afternoon we hiked (brews in hand) the trail to the falls, which were nice but not overly impressive, and somewhat crowded with casual hikers. Back at camp we snacked and played frisbee. Me & Jacq thought it would be a hoot to have a farting contest on the hammock, and it was. Steph got more camera happy when a young but huge elk passed through the adjacent field. Then GW & I made a quick beer run into town to restock the cooler then had a delicious fajita dinner, which I managed to puke right back up somehow. We made s'mores and hung fireside. Steph put on a light show forever with Lisa's glowing orbs. After a few passes of the tequila bottle and who knows how many cans of beer, we all hit the hay.

Saturday was another cas morning with another great breakfast. Just as we starting packing up, it started pouring rain. Managed to bid adieu to Maxwell Falls around 2 and headed to steph's mom's to shower and pick up the sweet vintage schwinn for crusin'. Made it back to hot & gloomy Boulder around 4pm. We unpacked and spent the evening cas, watched I Heart Huckabees. I've seen it 3 times now, and I enjoy it more every time, I highly recommend it if you find yourself with an existential crisis. It was still early and we started watching Airplane II, but just passed out.

The next morning we cruised down to the Walnut Southside for some breakfast. Got the moon dog's shifters fixed. Unfortunately steph's ride was busted and she had to walk it back to the bear in the rain. Took advantage of the first sunday liquor sales in Colorado, and headed back to Milo and watched In Bruges. Met up with the rents and headed to Chautauqua for a picnic & an evening of classical music. Lauren & Renn met up with us for the nic, but then took off because the show was sold out. The first half of the concert put us to sleep - it was a violin concerto, and the soloist got arpeggio happy. The second half proved better - it was Beethoven's 6th. Got home and went straight to bed.

soco gadget gospel

Friday night I went over to steph's for dinner and was surprised with a pretty wicked early birthday present - a new cruiser bike! It's bright orange and has white wall tires. Some assembly was required and I'm going to have to bring over my tools to finish the joerb.

Had to get up early saturday to meet the painter back at milo so they could touch up where they messed up the front door. Chilled out, had some lunch, then greg & lisa came over and we headed to coors field parking lot for the free SoCo Music Fest. Got there just in time to catch a brief set by local faves, the Hot IQs. Then we walked over to the main stage area for a rousing set by Bassnectar. It was pretty fun being right downtown and rocking out. See for yourself:



As dusk approached Blonde Redhead took the stage. They played a set heavy on material from 23 but delved back into the catalog as well for a nice balance. Great set, it'd be a shame if they really are breaking up after this tour.



They spaced the acts so that right after one on the main stage, one played on the second stage which afforded us the luxury of seeking refreshments during whatever other local acts were playing. And it gave us a chance to sync up with steph's pals who arrived later. The lot began to fill up as it got dark, as most people prolly just showed for the headliner, Gnarls Barkley. Dressed in black dinner jackets, the Barkley boys played with a full back up band and mixed up the material between their two albums, including the perennial hits 'Crazy' and 'Gone Daddy Gone', all very well executed and high spirited. For the encore Cee Lo came out swigging on a bottle of Southern Comfort cuz hey, after all they paid for this whole thing. Let's hope it returns next year!



Sunday we chilled at my place in the morning as I whipped up some breakfast & mimosas. We watched Wristcutters: A Love Story, then I went for a run before heading over to hillside for Lauren's b-day cookout. Croquet & badminton were the lawn games of choice with a southwestern food theme.