Last night Cake played at Terminal 5. It was an evening with Cake, which means no other bands. Usually I get to Terminal 5 early and score an excellent spot to stand, but last night I was enjoying some adult beverages at a wonderfully tacky bar with some friends. This meant that I arrived with just enough time to use the bathroom and get down to the main floor before the show started. I was surrounded by Enemas! Actually the people to the right of me were cool, but the people directly in front: ARG!
Cake was freaking awesome. It would have been better if the people in front of me didn’t keep breaking the rock concert rules.
No large bags! If you choose to carry your bag please do so in front of you or to the side. When you decide to get closer and you hit me with your oversized bag when you walk by it makes me want to steal from you.
No changing standing position every 4 minutes. You can dance, bob, tap your foot, but when you insist on moving 4 inches to the left or right every 4 minutes you are fucking with everyone’s sight lines.
If you choose to let there be a passage lane in front of you don’t expect people behind you to be happy when you keep backing up.
I know that these rules seem a little silly or odd, but when the crowd is Generation X & Baby Boomers I expect everyone not to be tools. Maybe I’ve just been to more shows lately so your big night out to cut loose is just another night to me and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t act like the enema-nozzle that you very well may be. Should you scream, clap, dance, and generally enjoy yourself? Hell yes! Just don’t expect me not to get irked when you decide to leave the middle of a crowd to get drinks for your 5′ girlfriend who can’t see anything anyway. If you wanted to drink you should have stayed near the bar.
Cake gave away an apple tree and played everything, well most everything that I really wanted to hear. The big closing number included girls with glow-in-the-dark hula hoops and the encore was War Pigs and Going the Distance. Apparently they will be re-releasing the first album later this summer and maybe even a new one.
In other news I went to the inaugral run of a new running group. The name is We Run to Eat. It was fun, but I am not used to running outdoors. This will make for a fun summer.
And because I thought this was fantastic:
Hipsters, I still love you even though you tend to be enemas
So on Sunday I headed to the LES to catch Iron & Wine. The show was at Abrons Art Center, a great place to see music due to the cozy setting. Needless to say it was great show.
As many of you know I returned to Kansas this past weekend to attend a wedding. It was very lovely. It was very Kansas. I had a great time. I also had some life experiences while there.
The town I grew up in was dry. You couldn’t purchase alcohol in the town. In fact there are the old blue laws that state you can’t serve alcohol on property that was once owned by the church–this included the house in which I grew. Of course they never applied that second part, but the first part of the law was observed. It wasn’t until after I left that the law was reexamined and a liquor store & bar opened in town. This particular trip I actually set foot in that liquor store for the first time.
I had to ask where it was, and expected not directions but what it was when I was in high school, because that’s what being a true native will get you. I arrived and took a look at the local beer selection. I was about ready to ask if I could mix and match when I realized that I was easily the oldest person in the establishment. I selected my New Belgium 6 pack and proceeded to the register. $9 later (in ones because I’m classy) and stares from everyone in the joint I had my beer. Seriously it’s as if they had never seen someone in 5 inch heels and a dress before.
The previous story is really to set up what happened on Mother’s Day. My mom and I headed to visit my grandparents. We met them at their local diner. My grandmother’s brother was there and we decided to hit up the local casino (my grandparents live deep in Indian Reservation territory). Off we went to the casino. The last time I was there I was probably 19 and gambled away all my nickles in that sad tin building. Times have changed. The casino is a resort now. Oversized furniture and buffalo heads adorn the lobby. We headed to the gaming floor. I was stopped and asked for ID. I actually didn’t have any on me–don ‘t ask, and was denied entrance to the casino. That’s right, I’m obivously not 21 and therefore couldn’t gamble on the nickle slots.
I went to the bathroom where there was a sharps disposal. I walked outside to the waterfall/spa area where there were no less than 3 CPR kits within 5 feet; not to mention the emergency phones and call buttons. The casino certainly knows their clientel. 90% of the people there were over 80. I suppose they may card all the non-geriatrics, but still…really? Life is funny.
I’ve always been a fan of the P.S.A. You know the more you know the further you’ll go. This week has been the week of P.S.A. direct from me to you.
PSA: Chairlift just isn’t that great. They have that one song, but seriously I fell asleep during their set.
PSA: Desktop publishing has led to a change in grammar rules. Single spaces after punctuation marks are now acceptable. (Personally I find it offensive, but it is the word on the street.)
PSA: Toilet paper with aloe is a lot like wiping with soggy toilet paper.
PSA: Hugh Jackman is naked for an extended period of time in Wolverine.
PSA: Peter Bjorn and John are better live than you’d expect. And the name of the band would be better with commas, as Bjorn is a person (with a 70s stash).
