It's Friday morning! And I am having a hard time waking up. I think it must have something to do with the two pints of Sierra Nevada and lots of fresh air I got yesterday. We made it to the photography exhibition, and there were some really amazing photographs. However, it was not a "beat" photography exhibition at all. There were some photos of those dudes, but the guy's work has a much larger span. I think I might have liked some of his photos from Peru the best, and some of the photos from the churches in Harlem. The guy's name is John Cohen by the way. You might recognize the name from the liner notes to Highway 61 Revisited. I did, once I saw the excerpt posted up on the wall at the gallery. There was one "beat" picture that I just loved, of Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky and Gregory Corso. Allen was laying his head in Peter's lap with Gregory sitting to the side making a funny face. I feel like if I had that picture above my desk I just might start writing poetry again, but alas, it was only available as a $1500 print. No postcards.
After the gallery we walked down the street in the southside looking for something to eat. We ended up checking out The Locker Room, Hines Ward's "upscale sports bar". It was the only place that did not appear super packed at 6:30pm. We walked in and all the waitstaff huddled at the other end of the bar just stared at us. Finally I said "could we see a menu please?" and after a few beats one of the bartenders handed some to us. We decided to stay, and picked a high table that ended up being under a heat vent. (ugh) The waitress, wearing an extremely lowcut referee's shirt, took our drink order for two Sierra Nevada drafts. Moments later, she came back and announced "here's your two Sam Adams." Juli said, "that must be for the next table, we ordered Sierra Nevada" and the waitress said "I must have told him the wrong thing. They both start with S." and then took the beers away. Moments later, she reappeared with the same beers and said "I just said the wrong thing to YOU, they really are Sierra Nevada!" Yikes. We ordered our food and had a nice chat. I was a little concerned that she didn't ask me how I wanted my burger cooked, as that can mean I'm in for a dry old time. Which I was. The fries were really good, beer battered I think, but the burger was very dry and reminded me a lot of the Burger King across the street. I was bummed out when the ladies behind me ordered the "mini cheese burgers" and theirs appeared to be hand formed and juicy. Sigh. Live and learn. Juli's Philly Cheesesteak was similarly underwhelming. We got another round and had some more good chat, and then the bill came. The bonus thing is that our FOOD was half off, so it didn't seem all that sad in the end. If I had paid $7 for a Burger King burger, I would have been sad. $3.50 for a Burger King burger is fine. Plus, those fries were killer.
We walked down the street in the beautiful evening air, checking out the hipsters and the storefront windows and a guy I know who works at the Beehive. Then, we came across a flyer in the window advertising a performance of STAINLESS, the 80's hair metal cover band, tonight at Peter's Pub in Oakland. I am SO THERE! I have been wanting to see these guys for over a year. Going to a bar in Oakland on a Friday night will take immense guts, but I think I am up for it. After all, it's STAINLESS!!!!

Well, as you might have guessed, especially if you are more pragmatic than I am, I crashed and burned yesterday. I was humming along just fine for most of the morning, with the occasional cough or stuffy nose. By the time I got home and settled in to the computer to do my gym research, I was sliding slowly downhill in terms of the feeling "active" department. By the time 4:15 rolled around, I was hacking and feeling pretty miserable. So I cancelled my gym date, made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and settled in to the couch to watch my new netflix The Work Of Mark Romanek. He's the video director who did "Closer" and "The Perfect Drug", as well as a bunch of other cool stuff like "Scream" with Janet and Michael Jackson(remember that one? they are on a minimalist black and white spaceship), Jay-Z's "99 Problems", and Madonna's "Bedtime Story", which is the one with the whirling dervishes in it. He also made the video for Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt", which I had never seen. Holy shit. I had to watch it three times in order to hear Mark's commentary and commentary by Trent, and it made me dissolve into a pool of tears each time. Wow.
I ended up crawling into bed around 9pm. I feel much better today(again) but I am going to take it easy. After work I have to do some research to try to figure out a recipe for vegetarian spam. Hee! It's Monty Python's Flying Brunch this weekend!
Hopefully later on tonight I will feel up to going to see the Beat photos with Juli.
I think I should be fine for that since it shouldn't involve lots of strenuous activity.
The sun is shining again today! And in just a couple of days we'll be springing forward, which means the sun will be shining BEFORE I get out of bed. I cannot wait for that to happen!

Oh man, do I feel righteous today! Last night I spent 2.5 hours scrubbing the nasty off of some of the nastiest parts of the QS kitchen. I ventured where no one has dared to go in ages...probably since the place was opened. I took a butter knife to crevices and degreaser and steel wool to caked on walls. Not to mention UNDERNEATH stuff. Ew. Benrod was in the kitchen with me and we tag teamed some of the grossest areas. Other people were cleaning out the milk refrigerator and the bookcase and the catering storage downstairs. It was a great party with the oldies playing and the PBR flowing. I feel really happy and proud that so many folks VOLUNTEERED to do this project...it's nice to know that people care about the place enough to give up their evening to get it in shape. I am hoping to make the cleaning parties bi-monthly.
Today is going to be my first GYM DAY! I am excited, but of course also nervous. I haven't looked at the inside of a gym since college, and I'm not sure I know what to do with all that stuff. I guess that is what the internets are for...I'll be doing some research this afternoon. After breakfast and a catering smackdown meeting.
Please note: the sun is shining. I'm a happy girl.

Alright, I've officially been invaded by some major headfunk. This sucks really bad because I am supposed to be spearheading a late night cleaning party at the Storm tonight. I'll still go, but I won't be the white tornado I was hoping to be. I will be scrubbing out the Mouth of Hades, aka the cubbyhole where we put the pan lids, though. That shit is Nas-tay.
Tonight is the Kris Kristofferson show, I think. I deliberately lost track of it when it turned out that the New West Street Team was going no where and the tickets are $45. I know someone who is definitely going, so I can at least get a full report. I feel a little bit sad, but I also know that I need to be selective in what I will shell out a whole bunch of cash for. I am debating the Fixx show at Club Cafe right now....it's $25. I have to wonder if a band that was at least 75% presentation for me can deliver $25 worth of show some 20 years on. So far all the pictures I have been able to find are shadowy and veiled. Perhaps this is shallow of me, but if Cy and Jamie don't still look damn fine it won't be worth it for me. When I hear Fixx songs on the radio, I don't think "oh this is a great song." I think "oh this is a great video." Such was the 80s.
March is hurtling to it's conclusion....I barely noticed this month! April is going to be jampacked with catering adventures. Can't wait! April is also going to be jampacked with personal improvement opportunities. I hope I can actually grab them by the horns and ride like the wind.
Or, um, grab them by the neck and ride like a stand up bass player. *blush*

I don't know if the rockstars ever made it to the Quiet Storm. I could only make it till 3pm before I had to come home and pass out. I think up until then I was still drunk, and then around 3pm I started to be hung over. Being upright was no longer in the program.
Judging from how I felt, I would guess that those boys (despite having a 10+year advantage on me) having no doubt gone on to party much later into the night than I did, felt pretty rough Saturday afternoon. So if they made it in at all I will be pretty surprised. I did dream about the basshumper last night though...it was very sweet. I think it's just going to be one of those unexplainable intersections...I have no clue why he was drawn into my life for that half hour, but it sure was lovely. Of course I've googled him and in doing so remembered a bunch of other things he told me in the course of our little conversation. He didn't mention having a country blues radio show or playing with a cellist though. It seems as though they might have played a second show somewhere in town on Saturday...if I had known, I probably would have tried to pry myself out of the bed for it. They were that remarkable.
On to cupcakes....the lemon raspberry turned out great. I think I have mastered a basic cake recipe now and just have to vary the flavors. I baked and filled them at home then took them to the QS to frost them. (forgot to buy powdered sugar when I was going ingredient shopping...oops!) The frosting turned out really nice....lemon buttercream is one of life's little pleasures. When I was done I sat down and did some slip tallying and tried not to think about how spacy and weird I felt. I was definitely still drunk. The cupcake couple arrived and they were really great...they ar planning a super casual party in her grandmother's back yard, and are just going to through the marriage part in there somewhere. A great attitude. They loved all the cupcakes and had a hard time deciding. I gave them some to take home to share with people and told them to get back to me. I waited a little bit for the rockstars, but then I just had to leave. Came home and slept it off, then had to get ready to go the LUPEC party. I tried really hard to get psyched for it, but I just couldn't really get it up. We went and dropped off the buttons and I drank a soda water and then we turned around and came back home. Sweet, delicious sleep.
Sunday was a trip to the Waterfront with Jennie. We ate at Steak and Shake...let me just say, they are much better in theory than in practice. The pictures of food on the menu are really deceiving. My strawberry shake was delicious, and the chili 4 way was good, but not as big as it looked like it was going to be, and not enough onions. The fries Jennie got were also completely misrepresented on the menu. Oh well. It was good, just not the classic diner experience they try to make it out to be.
We trudged across the parking lot to Michael's, where I took the plunge and got a Wilton Cake Decorating Starter Kit for $30. I am so excited to start decorating I can barely control myself. It came with a little booklet so even if I can't get into a decorating class, I can start practicing. I also got a jar of red edible GLITTER. Dang.
Next stop was the Office Depot, where I invested in a black ink cartridge for my printer. Ink cartridges piss me off the same way tampons do...they totally have you over a barrel there. I guess I can look into the refilling kits or whatnot, but if you need to print something NOW and you run out of ink, you have no choice but to shell out $25 for it. Sigh. I got some pens and computer wipes to make myself feel a little better about the transaction. Then we headed to TJ Max, where I debated over socks. I finally got a pair that have silver glitter stripes, just because. They match the shoes. Then I accompanied Jennie to the Shoe Warehouse, as she was trying to buy walking shoes. The athletic shoes soon made me nervous, so I continued on to Target so she could shop in peace. I was completely unfrivolous in my Target shopping...got a britta filter and hand cream and liquid soap and a new toothbrush and kitchen cleaner. Ho hum. I did go a little nuts in the 99 cent trial size aisle, but still, every thing I bought was pretty much USEFUL. I even bought VITAMINS. Couldn't even bring myself to buy GUM. I guess the shellshock of the $25 ink cartridge killed my shopping lust. I am really happy with my cake decorating kit though! I got home last night and made myself a big salad (with beets! or, a-with-a-beets-a, as Trent would say) and settled in to read through the little booklet and fondle all the different decorating tips.
This morning I woke up feeling snotty in the head and sore in the throat. ARGH. If the seasons would just CHANGE already this could all be avoided.

So, I'm just sitting there at the Pub last night, drinking a PBR, catching up on my smoking. Minding my own business waiting for Exene. Sorta letting my eyes wander over the crowd, which is very different from the sort of crowd I usually get to see. Lots of greasers and punkers and rockabilly types, which are fun to look at. Also, several adorable cute boys who just SCREAM rockstar from every pore of their being.
So, anyway, there I am lost in my post superfuckinslammedsupper reverie, when out of nowhere, up walks this:



Only with a shirt and without facial hair. He smiles sweetly and asks if he can sit down, and proceeds to engage me in delightful conversation. I knew of course that he was some kind of rockstar, but I had no idea who he was. He asked me what my job was and when I told him I cooked in a vegetarian restaurant, he got very excited and pulled over the singer, who was also leaving a wet trail of rockstar behind him. He told me about this great philly cheesesteak style vegetarian hoagie he had had last week on tour....only couldn't remember what city it was. We finally figured out it was Cleveland. Then he excuses himself to pee, and I got up to watch the Cheats.(really incredible punk rock, with a new cutie on bass. This is the second time I've seen them and I loved them both times. This time I lost it at the end of their set because they played "Jet Boy Jet Girl". Last time they closed their set with "Surrender". You know I have to love a band that will do those songs)
OK, so I'm in a slight daze, trying to figure out just why this bundle of lovely would want to walk over and sit with me. I definitely wasn't lookin good, having just gotten out of the kitchen. Maybe he found the pigtails and bandana look comforting? I have no idea. But I was just charmed to pieces by him.
Then they were taking the stage...7 Shot Screamers. He plays the standup bass, and by plays I really means makes love to. He humped that thing like there's no tomorrow, screaming and flailing and even setting fire to it at one point. The singer boy, he was such a pretty tangle of glam/punk that it was hard to look away from him for even a second. The drummer, rocksteady and an incredible workhorse. The guitarist, with a gigantic red mohawk and waaay too cool style, just tore it up. Their noise sent me into such a frenzy that I really thought I was going to pass out on more than one occasion. AND THEN....they closed their set with...."Ballroom Blitz." Oh yes, my fate was sealed. Todd from the Cheats jumped on the stage and hoisted Mike(the elfin glampunk singerboy) into the air, and when we all sang the "yeah yeah yeah" part the roar in my ears was deafening. Unbelievable. When their set was done I ran over to Chris(the basshumper) and threw my arms around him and told him I was completely in love with them now, and I gave him a QS business card that Becky happened to have in her wallet. (she's an ass saver, that rebbyro)
He gave me another little hippie/imp grin and said they would definitely be coming for lunch today. Then I ran back to the merch table and got the CD and free buttons and stickers, and talked to Mike a little bit.
And then the setup began for the Original Sinners....what? It's the same band!!! Just take out the singerboy and replace him with Exene, and add one other guitar(the only other person from the last time we saw them) Crazy! Chris played electric bass for this set, and was just as enchanting. Plus he was able to be mobile and walk to the other side of the stage to rub noses with Deano(who kept his giant red mohawk covered with an awesome black cap for most of the set) There really isn't anything I can say about Exene that would do her justice....she's one of my heroines, and she doesn't disappoint. We jumped and rocked and flailed around without missing a beat. I got out of the middle of the melee at one point to go to the bathroom, and then I wandered to the back and got some more cash and bought another beer, and a pack of smokes, and....the 7 Shot Screamers record. To go with my CD. Hee.
After the show was completely all over, Chris came and toasted me with his Budweiser and told me that they are going to make coming to my restaurant "an event." Will they bring Exene? Will they manage to get there before I have to meet with the cupcake lady? Only time will tell, friends.
And right now, time is telling me I still have another batch of cupcakes to bake. Thank god I'm still drunk. (ha!)

Oh. My. God.

Almond Cupcakes are done. There was no mystecism or rocket science to these, just plain ole butter sugar flour eggs milk almond extract. But wowie. Nice and dense cake with a crispy crust. I'm going to frost them with a nice mocha frosting, but man, this little guy is just fine plain. I've got one more to go....the lemon raspberry. That will be either late night tonight or early tomorrow.
I really like the direction my life is taking these days....being a cupcake maker sure suits me.

RED VELVET CUPCAKES


First, creaming shortening and sugar. One of my favorite things in the WORLD
to do.
Then, adding two eggs. Whatever.
THEN, making a paste out of 2tlbs of cocoa and AN ENTIRE BOTTLE AND A HALF
OF RED FOOD COLORING. I balked. I brought my big brand new bottle of red
food coloring and my tiny set of easter egg colors with a mini bottle of red
food coloring. I looked at the recipe in horror only to find that it called
for 1.5 oz of red food coloring, which amounted to the entire big bottle
plus the entire little bottle plus another little bottle that I didn't have.
So my cupcakes were a tiny bit less RED than they should have been. Meh. Mix
that weird paste in.
THEN, alternating flour and buttermilk. THEN, you put vinegar into a bowl
and sprinkle baking soda on it, to make a volcano. Then you gently fold the
volcano into the batter. What kind of drugs were these southern ladies
doing?? So odd. I couldn't help trying to imagine who the first lady was that thought up the whole vinegar and baking soda thing. Obviously there is some important kitchen science going on, but I don't know what it is.
I am still slightly stained this morning after numerous hand washings. But the cupcake trimmings that I got to taste yesterday were SO GOOD. Even without the crowning glory of cream cheese icing, they were GOOD.
This morning I have to make another batch of cupcakes, which means I have to go to the grocery story for ingredients, which means I have to change out of my pajamas. Rot! I like being in my pajamas.
I got out of bed at 5am this morning. Apparently, at some point yesterday I set my clock ahead one hour so my 6am alarm went off at 5am. (this also means that when I thought I was going to bed last night at 10pm I was actually going to bed at 9. WTF??) I was drunk on the two beers I had with dinner. J and I could not go to see the beat poetry or the beat photos, so we just had a nice salmon-oriented dinner and mini gab session instead. It was really great, and I had plans to get home and do a whole lot of cleaning etc. Nope. I sent a few business emails and passed out drunk. Ha.
I have done quite a bit of cleaning and laundry since then, and most of the dishes. Accomplishing many things before most people are even awake makes me feel like a superstar.
Of course, the gazelle upstairs was awake right along with me. The gazelle never sleeps, she just endlessly gallops around her apartment. I am convinced of this.
Off to accomplish more things. I think it is going to be a good day.

Cupcakes and Exene

Keywords for this weekend. I have to bake an assortment of cupcakes for a tasting on Saturday....probably red velvet, lemon raspberry, and almond mocha. I think I am going to make them mini cupcakes cuz they are so cute. Just one little pouf of icing on the top. I was intending to do the red velvet ones yesterday but when I settled down with the Southern Cooking book I had brought from home, it turned out that the recipe wasn't in there. Scandalous. I've got one around here somewhere, though...I'm sure of it.
And Exene....she's playing Friday night at the Pub. It seems like there is a conspiracy in Pittsburgh to keep people from knowing about it, but I am doing my part. Last time she was here there were very few people in the crowd, and there were a lot of sound problems. The set had to be cut short. Exene was very gracious to the audience about it, but she was visibly pissed about the sound problems and the fact that the soundguy wouldn't explain it. I am so thrilled to see her again....I don't often listen to X, but somewhere in the back of my mind she has always been one of my heroines.
Hopefully J and I will get to hear some beat poetry and see some beat photographs tonight at the Silver Eye....if not, at least we can get a few beers and I can check out her pimpy new car. Woohoo! It's turning into a superduperbusy weekend, and I also have loads of housework to do. The past three days I have been more or less overcome with sinus headaches which means the laundry and dishes and general STUFF has gone neglected while I crawl into bed with a book and fall asleep before 10pm. Gah.
I'm feeling alot better about Roxie's disappearance from the Alice show....I sent him well wishes and he wrote back to say "you know I can't stay out of the Rock that long!" So, I'm hoping that means he'll be working on his new record. He better!
And now, something I just have to share. There are a group of us in the Alice Cooper online community(ha!) who trot out breadkitty whenever people start to get cantankerous our sad. Breadkitty was trotted out to me the other night when I was weeping over the loss of Roxie, and instantly put me in a better mood. Please enjoy.

It's the end of an era.
Ryan Roxie has just announced that he's decided not to go on tour with Alice Cooper this time out. He wants to spend some time at home with the family. He's been on the road with Alice for MOST of the past 10 years, and he needs a break.
Wow.
I've sort of been expecting this since last year's tour ended, but when I opened up myspace and read the announcement, it was like a knife to my heart. I just can't really imagine going to see Alice and not seeing Roxie up there. He's really become an integral part of the show, doing all the musical arranging and really he's as much fun to watch as Alice himself. No doubt someone great and very musically competent will step in to replace him, but there's something else that I doubt can be replaced.
Roxie is the most genuine rockstar I have ever met. He has gone out of his way to meet the fans and make actual personal connections with people in a way that you never see in the rock and roll biz. The internet is littered with smiling pictures of Roxie and fans, and stories of what a nice human being he is. I've done my own share of littering the internet with these stories(never managed to get one of those pictures though!!!) Over the past two years I think I have really become a Roxie fan first and an Alice fan second, and I just don't know how I will cope with seeing the big rock show without him.
I'm putting a positive spin on it...hoping this means he will concentrate on getting his new album together and maybe even tour with Roxie77. That would be a dream come true, and would make the sacrifice well worth it for me. Fingers crossed.

OH! I am so mad! I had the best dream last night, and now I can only remember parts of it. Seriously, this dream was so good, and I KNEW I should have scribbled it down right away when I woke up. Instead I forgot about it almost immediately and for most of the day, when suddenly the image of rolling around on the floor with Daniel Ash popped into my head while I was doing some paperwork at the bookstore. Oh my.
That's very titilating, but it wasn't really like that. Here's what I can remember of the dream:
I was going to see bauhaus and nin in concert at some very bizzarre sort of outdoor bar/grotto thing, with Jennie, Becky, and my sister. I arrived with my sister and we checked into our private changing room under the stage. It was loaded with boas and costumes. There were a lot of people milling around getting into position along the walkways that jutted out into the crowd. There wasn't really a stage to speak of, it was these long walkways and then a sort of balcolny. I got myself a nice puffy black boa and went to find Jennie in the crowd. She was just being dropped off at the gate, so I led her to where my sister and Becky were standing in the crowd. I decided to go upstairs and see if I could get a cocktail. I came up the staircase and noticed that a tiny little cabana style stage was being set up there. I was so intent on looking at it that I physically ran right into Daniel Ash, who was sort of stumbling bleary-eyed back from the bar. He was wearing a fuzzy chocolate brown turtleneck and dark navy sunglasses and his hair was chin length and sort of curly. It didn't really look much like him at all, actually, but I knew it was. He apologized for running into me and crawled into a booth with a stunning blonde. They were making a set list, I think. I looked over to the stage and saw that Kevin was setting up his drums and David was tuning, so I ran down to get Jennie. We got ourselves seats on a little banquette surrounded by lush plants and some kind of babbling brook. (the place really was very much like a tropical rainforest theme restaurant) We busied ourselves somehow and finally the show was ready to start. Daniel had changed into a shiny silver shirt and blue boa and tophat. Peter Murphy came out and started doing all kinds of spastic dances on the tiny stage. It seemed like Jennie and I were the only people in the place who were paying any attention, so they totally played to us. The songs were not any bauhaus songs that exist in reality, but I knew them all and was singing along. Then, for the finale of sorts, they all got down on the floor and were singing "love me love me love me" with their heads in a circle. Daniel grabbed me and pulled my head into the circle too, so I sang along with them. When the song was over, he started singing "I love you, love you, love you" to me and I felt really bad for the hot blonde who was still sitting in the booth. Their set was all of 4 songs long, and Jennie and I boldly walked up to them to ask why. Peter said that no one else cared and they would play for us later. I helped Daniel pack up his guitars and then he had to go back to the hot blonde. I went to find my sister and Becky and we walked into the underground ice palace/merch area.
That's pretty much all I can really remember, although I think I was friendly with Trent too in the dream, and I think that bauhaus really DID come and play for us later. But I've lost the details. Grrr.

In other news, I got a classmates.com contact from my number one "what if?" from highschool. As in, what if I had not been with my boyfriend and he had not been with his girlfriend....you know. He sent me photos of his daughter (18) and son (15) and told me about being a computer/business management type guy. Basically, he is a grown up. He's spent the last 20 years growing up, while I've spent them being a rock and roll freak. I don't feel good OR bad about it really....I just think it's funny how we take different paths in life and end up on such totally different trips. It's really nice to hear from him, though.

This weekend was super intense. This is how weekends should be, I think. I mean, really I feel very fulfilled when I get a lot of stuff DONE on the weekends, but it's also nice to have a weekend once in a while that is all about socializing and having a good time and eating a lot of barbecued and fried foods.
Friday I busted butt in the kitchen, with lots of breakfast business and the creation of a glorious batch of drrrrrty rice. Apparently the vegan scalloped corn with jalapeno and cilantro I made was hella good too, but I never even tasted it. I just went on faith. Nice when that works out.
I don't even remember getting home or what I did....sort of a blur. I think I took a nap, and then headed downtown to the art opening at Three Rivers Gallery. I looked at all the art and it was great (shout out to Jenny Lee!!!) and then I settled down to experience the Michael Johnsen performance. I don't really get "noise", as most people already know, but I closed my eyes and just let it wash over me. Until he put a contact mic on a piece of styrofoam and started to play it with a violin bow....then I had to hightail it out of there and smoke in the freezing cold. Ended up seeing Matt and Jenny pull up, and it was a pleasure as always to talk to them. Spoke to Matt a little more upstairs, and then headed to Young Bin Kwan with Becky, Steve, and Adam, for a delicious, surreal late night dinner.
Saturday morning there was fundraising bullsh*t on the PBS so Becky cooked breakfast and we got a jump on the day. Got some steaks and chicken and ski queen cheese and wholewheat biscuits and strawberry pretzel jello salad ingredients and threw on Queen and threw open the windows and threw back a couple of glasses of lambrusco and had a great time getting ready for the Human Brains Barbecue. After Queen we rocked KISS and Tori Amos. It was great. We finished everything up (note: this, my third attempt at the SPJS, was definitely the best. I have used a different recipe from the internet each time, and this time I made some modifications to the one I chose and it is definitely on it's way to perfection. Still got a ways to go, though)
We drove over to the new house to get some beer and check on the kizzle, and Mike was painting trim in the kitchen. The purple room looks awesome. Things are really coming along.
Arrived at castle McPherson to a giant pile of smoked ribs on the barbie and Baltzer whistling around doing last minute cleaning. Chatted with people, smoked some cigs, had a tour of the garden. It was really too cold to hang outside much, but we did anyway. Becky got our particular meats going and the grill was so hot they were done in a jiffy. OLD COLONY SAUCE is the bombdiggity, let me just tell you. One of the greatest gifts my father has given me, after my Scottish heritage, love for the Beatles and old country music. Got to watch lots of people enjoying ski queen cheese, some for the first time, some were acquainted and happy to see it. More people arrived and conversations got sillier. There was a great moment of IceT appreciation that just warmed my heart. Also, braunsweiger. Who knew? I got to read the synopsis to Murder Party! Looks like it will be awesome. And gruesome.
The music started. I didn't go and look at the first two performers(but were told they were fantastic in their own ways) but I did venture down for Styles For Modern Living. Hooray! "Bell Hooks" is my favorite song. They sound great with the full band, but the second keyboard was a little too front in the mix for my taste. It might have been because I was standing right in front of the speaker, though. They did a great cover of "Star Of Evolution" and everyone made a point of getting my approval, which I granted easily. Being "covered" rocks!
Then, the main event....The Human Brains!!!!!!!!!! Wow. Just, wow. Sure, there were a few sloppy minutes, but their set SMOKED and RULED. Big time. It is one of life's great pleasures to see the Milhalcin brothers in action. Of course, Benji did not disappoint, except for the fact that his hair never quite fell in his face. But he roared and yelped and the bass was shaking the walls. Logan held it down with my favorite Bolan shuffle, completely effortless. The crowd went wild. The lights flickered on and off. People spun around the poll till they were a blur. "What Have I Become?" incited a near riot. It was glorious.
After it was done, there was a short FoP set. You can't really follow the Human Brains on their once yearly outing, but it is always great to hear "Catapult." Always.
We made it home alive before 11pm. Yeehaw for early afternoon parties! I tried to sleep in, but I woke up before 8am anyway. Sitting at the computer planning my day, I got a panicked phonecall from the second shift brunch cook....the first shift brunch cook never showed up. Argh. SO, it was throw on some clothes and hightail it down to the place. Spent a little over and hour throwing together brunch at lightening speed. It was controlled chaos, but we DID IT. Then the management bitches climbed in the car and headed down to the Restaurant Expo to sample lots and lots and LOTS of fried foods and free alcohol. Seriously, the number and variety of fried things was staggering. Also got to sample a lot of roasted meats, (our badges did not reveal our "vegetarian restaurant" status) and actually pick up a few pieces of useful information. Basically, the Restaurant Expo is a feeding frenzy. Pure and simple. I wish that I had had the presence of mind to watch some of the culinary demonstrations, but the strange morning sort of set me on edge and I just wandered around looking at things and snacking on things. As we left, we decided to try to get to the Natural Foods Expo next time...might be a little more useful.
Got home and took a long nap, then went out to the new even more improved grocery store for hamburger and cigarettes. I am not entirely pleased with the way they have the produce set up right now....it's sort of difficult to tell what is organic and what isn't because it's all lumped together and not very clearly marked. Maybe they'll fix it. Anyway, it LOOKS good, and will probably be getting better as time goes on. I'm excited to start eating some more fresh vegetables on a daily basis. Oh yeah.

This poem made me full of nostalgia. It is written by Alexander Mc Lachlan, the "Burns of Canada" in 1874.

We Live In a Rickety House

We live in a rickety house,
In a dirty dismal street,
Where the naked hide from day,
And thieves and drunkards meet.

And pious folks with their tracts,
When our dens they enter in,
They point to our shirtless backs,
As the fruits of beer and gin.

And they quote us texts to prove,
That our hearts are hard as stone,
And they feed us with the fact,
That the fault is all our own.

It will be long ere the poor,
Will learn their grog to shun,
While it's raiment, food and fire,
And religion all in one.

I wonder some pious folks,
Can look us straight in the face,
For our ignorance and crime,
Are the Church's shame and disgrace.

We live in a rickety house,
In a dirty dismal street,
Where the naked hide from day,
And thieves and drunkards meet.

Wow! This nin/bauhaus tour is certainly generating a lot of controversy! I'm all over the map with it.....sure, it's somewhat "inappropriate" for the fathers to "support" the son. However, I'm absolutely mindboggled at the number of nin fans posting on the messageboard that they have never heard of this bauhaus band....that, in my mind, is crminal. And that, in my mind, is exactly why this is a fantastic move.
Trent hand picks his opening acts, making good use of his "power and influence" to expose the teeming masses to something he feels is important. Witness Saul Williams...there is no doubt in my mind that MOST of the people attending nin shows would never in a million years pay attention to this guy if Trent didn't force it on them. Sure, there have been plenty of people reacting with indifference, outright outrage, and downright racism. But, there have also been a lot of people who listened with an open mind and even went and got his CD at the merch table after his set.(my gf among them)
The thought of all those kids(some of whom aren't really kids, and should really know better) seeing bauhaus and being blown away by the power and artistry of their music fills me with joy.
It reminds me a whole lot of a conversation I had many years ago with a young nin fan in Albuquerque. He was going on and on and on about how Trent is GOD or some such, and I let drop casually that he dated my boyfriend's sister when I was in highschool. I let drop casually that I had a conversation with Trent in the laundryroom of their mother's house about how great Adam Ant was. (she had a poster of Adam over the washing machine) This kid would not believe that Trent would listen to that kind of music, and refused to believe me. Then "Broken" came out, with it's "hidden" cover of Adam's "Physical." Next thing ya know, this kid is sheepishly asking me to borrow my Adam Ant records. Ha.
The moral of the story is, like it or not, Trent Reznor has a lot of cultural clout to a whole generation of music fans. I'm not even convinced that HE likes it all that much, but it impresses me that he uses it to full advantage.
Much as I love to be a part of an elite group who are in the know about bauhaus, I would be so very happy if they manage to make a brilliant new album and finally get some of the recognition they deserve. And I applaud Trent for doing what he can to make it happen.

Oh. My. Goodness.
I am hyperventilating. I don't know how I am going to survive this.
June 30th, Post Gazette Pavillion.
Nine Inch Nails. AND Bauhaus.
I seriously came very close to a heart attack just now.

Seriously, the last thing I need is one more guitar player to have a crush on, right?
Especially a local punk rock boy, right? But there I was, crushing HARD on this boy who was hanging out at the QS before the Short Dark Strangers/Lucid Music/Manly P Holla show. He had the cutest outfit on...these incredible little red leather lace up boots, cut off chef pants, what appeared to be a wifebeater that just revealed a glimpse of tattoo on his chest(looked like one of those spanish hearts wrapped in barbed wire things, but I didn't get close enough to be sure) and a hoodie that he kept pulled up over his head all night long. I was watching him make his way around the place, smiling very warmly and just seeming to have a good time. I fetched him a PBR and the ball for the foozeball table. Oh...I didn't mention that he had a blue stuffed bunny hanging out of his pocket by the ears, did I? Well he did. He came back at one point and I held out my hand expecting him to return the foozeball and he handed me the bunny. I gave it right back to him because, well, I was flustered. He was too cute for words. So I got him another beer instead and then found out that he was the guitar player. WOW. Somehow I had completely missed or ignored him when we saw Short Dark Stranger over at the Smiling Moose a couple of months ago...there was just too much going on in there I guess, and Bobby and Dana and Ricky were so interesting and closer to me that I didn't even really look to that side of the stage.
Friday night, though, I got myself a prime spot to watch him play and let me just say that he blew my mind. His playing was very controlled, yet his sound was absolutely incredible. I was trying to get a good look at what kind of guitar he had and his amp, which was I think something like behringer? I have no idea. Never could tell what the guitar was, but it sounded fantastic. It was a rock assault of the best kind. The rest of the band was also completely mind blowing, but I was totally focused on this guitar whiz in the hoodie. I got myself so worked up that I couldn't even go and talk to him after the show. Gah. Turns out he was in Submachine too, so I've seen him lots of times before and just never paid attention. That's what happens when your lead singer is compelling.
So now I have a new crush for the springtime. Heeheehee.
Saturday was a very chill day....I made dutch babies and hung around and then got some stuff from Melwood to move to the new place. Including the cat and the bed. I spent some time hanging with Roxanne in Becky's sultry red and black bedroom and did a bunch of data entry stuff...trying to catch up on the slip tallies from the restaurant. The busier we get the more I fall behind, as you might expect. But I have this big bunch of TCB energy right now so I am thinking I'll be able to catch up soon. We took a nap and then went to the almost deserted Shop and Save to get pierogies for dinner. By the time dinner was done neither of us could muster the energy to go out for rock, so I did some computering and Becky fell asleep on the couch. The moving had taken a lot out of us, even though we didn't do all that much.
Today I am making a lot of headway into cleaning out this storage area of a bedroom. I have pretty much decided to stay here another year, so it seems like time to actually make the place somewhat livable. Going through boxes and boxes of random crap, trying to get rid of some and put the rest in some sort of order. I stumbled upon some old journals and old photographs and old clippings so that took up a lot of time. It's very inspiring to read through all this old stuff and see what a crazy thriving art scene we had going back in the Rickety heyday. Alot of us are still around, still doing great stuff, but there was something pretty special about the energy and creativity of those days.
Better get some dinner and get back to the project. Here's to a good week ahead!

Wow...it's totally light out at 6:30am! AND, I slept all night with the window open! Could spring really be here? I'm hoping. I really need it.
The rock neck is working itself out. I think I am still sort of high from the concert and hottub combo....I keep stretching and smiling and feeling all sultry. I hope I can make it last. I feel like I tend to go through life sort of scrunched up from having to work really fast in a small space. Even after a busy day at the restaurant yesterday though, I feel relaxed. It's GOOD!
Today is gonna be a busy morning too....I've got a party of 30 coming for breakfast, on top of whatever other people feel like dropping by (thankfully Whole Foods meeting day was last week!) and I have to make some stuff for supper too. Trent will help though....yesterday he screamed at me for three or so hours and I got a lot done. He's very motivational.
I'm very excited to see Short Dark Stranger at the Quiet Storm tonight! It's our first PBR special night. Ya'll come!

This is a picture from the website of something that I could not actually see. Our seats were up and to the left of the stage, with a bank of speakers completely blocking my view of Josh Freese, which was a pity because he is an incredible drummer and I would have loved to see what he was doing. Also could not see Trent up on this platform while he screamed "I want to fuck you like an animal." Too bad.

We got a late start on our trip to Erie, and ended up arriving right in time to check in to the jacuuuuuuuzi suite. It was a great room, with a king sized bed, two TVs, a microwave, fridge, coffeemaker, sofa, desk...jacuuuuuuzi. A person could live in there. We wasted no time turning on the cable and hopping in the hottub. We boiled our troubles away with a bottle of lambrusco and VH1's 40 Least Metal Moments. Could it get any better? Had a little nap and then it was almost showtime! It was really cool to see a show in a coliseum type setting...it's been quite a while for me. We got patted down and passed security, then went to the merch table. Trent was very accomodating with the pre-bagged pin and bumper sticker selections. Thanks, Trent! I got a nice black t shirt to match the color of my soul, and we climbed into the rafters to our seats. It was a good view, actually---we were well positioned to see what was going on with the screens, as well as having a pretty decent view of everyone in the band except Josh Freese. Boo. Ended up being surrounded by people (some of them very nice, some of them totally retarded fuckheads, as you would expect at a NIN show) and we contemplated at one point trying to go and sit in the almost completely unoccupied back section directly across from the stage, but decided that walking around in the dark might suck and it would be awful if we missed something good. So we stayed put. There were even several times when I thought I should jave just braved the GA tickets....the floor was not even close to full and we certainly could have found some slam-free spot to stand. Oh well.....I'll know better for next time.
So, Saul Williams was the opener, and he was incredible. I was really impressed with his flow, and he said some things that were incredibly right on. I especially admire his bravery to spit that kind of truth in front of an audience with the potential to be completely hostile. They weren't COMPLETELY hostile, but there was some booing. Fuckheads.
Becky left at intermission to go and track down his CD. I watched as the GA filled up and the stage was set. It took a really long time, but finally the screens went down and the lights went down and the onslaught began. At first Trent sounded really stuffy (he's been very sick and cancelled a few shows in the last two weeks) but after a while he sounded a lot better. He played half of the Downward Spiral, including Eraser AND Reptile, melting me into a pool of jelly. Nothing at all from the Fraggle, which was kinda sad, but it was really a more high energy show with lots of jumping up and down from Trent and lots of spastic wailing and leaping about from the guitar player Aaron North. Splendid. The lightshow and projections were absolutely mindblowing. I think besides Reptile I was most thrilled with Gave Up...it was at that point while trying to thrash in stadium seating that I thought being on the floor would not be so bad. There was this great duder fratboy in front of us that was doing sort of white boy "rap" hand motions the whole time...it got more and more entertaining the drunker he got, and seeing him sing along at the top of his lungs to songs about inner torment and sensitivity was a bonus.
Hurt was just beautiful with Trent alone on a mini keyboard and everyone in the place singing along and holding their lighters. (thankfully, no one threw one at him!)
He said some nice stuff about how glad he was to see so many Pennsylvania people had stuck with him, and how the reason he is so full of angst and anger and sadness and depression is that he spent 18 years growing up here. Poor Trent. And then he launched into The Hand That Feeds with fury, and it was truly one of the highlights too. Yep, there were a lot of em.
It was a long show, but it felt like it was over way too soon. We walked to the top of the parking garage and then took about an hour to get OUT of it. Grr. And, bizarrely, could not find ANY Erie radio stations playing nine inch nails after the show. There didn't even seem to be any people blaring them in the parking garage, as you would imagine. Weird.
We drove a short distance and found Dominicks, an all night diner I had remembered from a previous visit, and had a great hot meal. The waitress was having her first night back after 8 years and totally freaking out about it, but we were both so very high from the concert experience that her incessant attempts not to bother us did not even bother us.
Then we finally got back to the hotel and fell into bed with Aqua Teen Hunger Force on the cable. It was like magic!
This morning we got up early and took advantage of the free breakfast buffet, then got back into the hottub for a little bit with E!s 100 worst fashion mistakes on, then watched a little charmed and then it was time to leave. Boo.
We drove around Erie a little bit and visited some thrift stores, then headed home. The rest of today was a big long nap and the Simpsons on TV and Ali Baba from Wheel Deliver.
Tomorrow we re-enter society. I feel incredibly RELAXED, despite the rock neck. The combination of thrashing and screaming along with Trent and several hours in the jacuzzi really did me right. I should do that more often.

Cold pizza for breakfast is one of my favorite things. Even when breakfast is at 12:33.
Last night we ordered pizza and watched the Oscars. I was bummed that Jake didn't win, but I would have been MORE bummed if Heath won and Jake didn't. Does that make sense? Personal hi-lites were Luda coming out in his FINE THREADS to introduce the Three six Mafia, the really awesome Robert Altman intro that Lilly Tomlin and Meryl Streep did, and the montage of implied gay cowboy themes from old films. The Duke saying "I'll have you spread eagled on a wagon wheel" out of context had me guffaw-ing up a storm!
So, before the Oscars I worked really damn hard at Glam rock brunch. It was almost completely fun though...there was a hairy portion right around 12:30-1pm when we had tons of slips up, were running out of food, and every single plate in the place was currently sitting on someone's table. Then I pulled a frittata and another set of blintzes out of my ass, and found a tiny secret stash of old plates. And we were good to go again. Everyone seemed to love the menu (I was especially proud of the No More Mr Pot Pie, and it got good reviews) and Spat wore a purple boa and eye glitter for his whole shift. It was the fourth in a row of walloping shifts for him, but he said to me at the end "it's impossible to be in a bad mood when you are wearing a boa." Ha! Words to live by.
Tomorrow is Nine Inch Nails day! I can't believe it's finally here. We've been planning this trip for so long. We'll be heading up to Erie early to take full advantage of every possible moment in the jacuzzi suite. I am packing a picnic so we don't have to leave the jacuzzi suite for dinner. That's how serious this is.
Back on Wednesday with a review.....

Sigh.
Aren't crushes awesome?
Tonight I saw I boy I used to have it reaaaaally bad for back in the day. I haven't seen him in ages, at least three years, possibly four. He's still adorable as ever and his guitar playing still got to me in the way it used to. I had an all too brief conversation with him wherein he told me that he never goes out at all (he lives in New York) so he could really be living anywhere. He said that once the smoking ban took effect he mostly just stays in his house because "bars smell terrible without smoke." It just made me really happy to see him, looking good and playing pretty music and seeming to be in a really good place in his life. He's got the greatest little lopsided grin. Sigh.
This is by way of trying to get back into the writing thing again...I feel bad that I have forgotten about it for so long. I'll try to keep up.