moe.

I went to see the band moe. play in Manhattan this past weekend, and they were great. They played two nights, and I went to both. I went down with my friend Brad and we stayed at his friend's place in Brooklyn. The first night was a benefit concert to fight hunger, and there were a lot of musical guests - Butch Trucks on drums, Marco Benevento on keys, David Sandom on sax, Jeff Austin on the mandolin (awesome) and David Barnes on banjo. It was a good show, and I had a really good time, but sometimes it was like too many cooks in the kitchen. the crowd was good as well, which always enhances any show. Our friend DV came to meet us in Brooklyn from the airport, and we had his driver bring us over to the show in Manhattan. It was the most entertaining ride ever. The driver (who knew our friends) was really funny and took us on a nice ride so we could see all the sights like the Statue of Liberty and a good view of Manhattan. After we just went home to Brooklyn and hung out all night. I finally went to bed around 4 or 5, but the guys stayed up the entire night and just powered on through the next day.... I could have never done that!

The second night was just moe. by themselves, and I liked this show much better. They played Letter Home, Johnny Lineup, Shoot First, Mexico, Dr. G, Buster, and a lot more. They just jammed for like 20 minutes at a time, and the first set was amazing. It was definitely the standout of the night. After the show we met up with some other friends, hung around after the show, and then took the longest cab ride ever back to Brooklyn. We wanted to go to the Brooklyn Bowl but there was a cover and we were all pretty much broke at that point. So we went to this bar where there were some pretty colorful characters. I just sat with my ice water and people-watched the entire time, and ate a million peanuts. There were big baskets of peanuts everywhere, and the five of us downed like three of them, they were so good and sooo addicting. One guy at the table next to us was wearing cowboy chaps, a huge fur coat, and a full-size American flag draped around his shoulders. No shirt. With eyeliner. And I think that was his regular uniform. Others had crazy, asymmetrical, hipster hair; there were some biker characters in there, and some with black shapes painted on their faces. We all just watched, it was very entertaining. Then we got 3 am pizza and walked like 20 blocks back to the car to go home, and then stayed up til the sun came up. We listened to this really awesome group, Pretty Lights. You can go on their website and download their albums for free. I haven't been able to stop listening to them since I got home.

So that was my weekend, and I loved it, and never wanted to leave. Brad is going to see moe. this weekend in Boston, and I'm so jealous.

the mix tape

I received a mix tape last night, and it was a great delight. Mix tapes are outdated and almost obsolete now-- technology has come up with faster and easier ways to share music, as history has a way of doing. mix tapes are now mix cds, or sometimes just an emailed playlist. i've done both countless times, because I'm all about sharing music.... if I love a song, I want everyone to hear it! if you ask me to make you a playlist, you have just made my day.
but there's something to be said for mix tapes. the retro-ness of it. the fact that it takes time to assemble all of the different albums and record every song, one by one, and stay on top if it so you don't overlap songs or leave too much empty air. Then there's the sleeve. My mix tape included a little tracklist, typed up on typewriter, some words translated into Italian (bc he knows I can speak it) and a photo. Again, the time it took to make this is what I love the most. I remember how long it could take... my sister and I used to listen to the radio every night for hours waiting for our favorite songs to come on, so we could tape them. we'd have to have our fingers poised over the Record button at the end of every song, just in case the next one that came on was one we wanted. I got pretty good at recognizing a song from just the first note or two. I can picture us now-- two little girls (I must have been about 11, she about 9) in our shared bedroom in Arizona in 1997. I remember all the songs we waited for-- Blackstreet, Backstreet Boys, Eagle Eye Cherry, Semisonic, Better Than Ezra, Eve6... and a lot more that I never found out the names to.

anyway. I haven't even been able to listen to my tape yet-- because I can't find a cassette player anywhere! Isn't that crazy? well, maybe not-- cassette players went out in the mid-90s, over 15 years ago, as a friend recently pointed out. Little discmans are hard to find as it is, forget finding a walkman. yet still, I am surprised I'm having such a hard time finding one.

this tape has put such a smile on my face that hasn't been there in a long time. it's the dead of winter and bitterly cold. I have a lot on my plate with moving to another country, money and various relationship woes. I am so glad for this, it really cheered me up and I didn't even know I needed it.

2009

you know what? I had a really good year. From what I've been seeing online, though, a lot of people haven't, and are glad to be done with it. Well, here are some of the things I've done this year.

January - moved to Florence, Italy for 4 months. Adventures begin.
February - began a love affair. Went to Siena and Pisa.
March - Went to the French Riviera (Cannes & Nice) and Monaco. Conducted my own personal art history tour throughout Florence and Rome.
April - affair stalls. I rode on the back many vespas however, which made things bearable.
May - affair restarts then ends. Went to Amsterdam. Moved back home because I was flat broke and was reduced to eating potatoes for weeks before.
June/July/August - um. not much to report. Well, I had a bunch of art shows each month.
September - brief fling. yeah. rebounded with another one.
October - Went to my favorite band of all time- AFI. Amazing.
November - Awesome Thanksgiving at the Filiaults. Job interviews in NYC. and, 2 nights of insanity at PHISH.
December - My birthday, trip to SLC. Saw my old college friends which was awesome.

So, 2010, can you do one better?