Slip Slidin' Fragments

Another spring semester is in the books. Here's a bunch of fragments on stuff.


Earlier this semester I noticed how many people back into parking spaces. I am officially perplexed by this behavior, especially when someone is directly in back of you, and it holds up traffic. Is it really that important to get out that quickly? I dunno, maybe there is less of a chance of running over someone, but I am doubtful that's going through anyone's mind. Just pull in and get out of my way.

So I went to the the Breeders concert last month, and by a confluence of events (co-workers invited me and I was feeling FOMO) I ended up at an Everclear/Local H/Marcy's Playground concert. Did it reek of desperation? Maybe a little. At the Breeders there was a sense of coolness and there were actually young people there. This....not so much. At once I felt old and young at same time. Like there are people 3-5 years older than me but looked 10 years older than me. I had the same feeling at my 6th grader's band swim party, most of the parents looked like what adults looked like when I was kid. I felt awkward although I'll get there soon enough .

Anyway, back to the concert. Each band brought something to the stage and Marcy's Playground surprisingly did not suck...so there's that. Also, Art sounded like he might die on stage. I was put off with his emphasis on later releases (Songs from an American Movie or whatever) but whatever, I am sure he is bored of "Heartspark Dollar sign" (I was sad that wasn't played).  So, after years of not going to a concert, I will be going to three concerts in the last three months (Weezer/Pixies is at the end of next month). How about that? 

Free Comic Book Day came and went and and the kids and I have an annual tradition of going. It's so fun and it's our little holiday. First, donuts in the morning, followed by getting in line at our local shop (which allows one copy of as many of the comics as you like), followed by the used book store (that usually has at least one free comic), followed by Cane's and the pet store. I love it (and so does K, as it gives her a break and quiet house for the whole morning and a chunk of the afternoon).

It's hot in SA already. I hate the summer, it makes me want to curse for no good reason.  It's too damn hot this early. Oddly enough this spring had been extremely mild until now.

So, the kids and I will be in a local church production of The Wizard of Oz. Look, it's kinda a big deal (okay, I am kidding but kinda not  as they put on a good show). E was in Annie in the winter, and, I gotta say the production and talent was pretty impressive. I had been fooling around with the kids, doing a the Wizard's voice, which led to them pleading with me to audition for the Wizard. So, I relented and well...what can I say? I was pretty good and they cast me as the Wizard (and of course Professor Marvel). We start rehearsing next Saturday and performances start in late July.

I am so sick of Slime. Slime videos, making slime, the kids playing with slime, talking about slime, taking out the slime during dinner, sneaking slime back to their rooms, more YOUTUBE slime videos. SLIME SLIME SLIME. SLIME. I hate it. Also, SLIME.

Thinking of some art projects I can take on this summer but not sure if I want to concentrate on painting or writing. Also, there's our "Study Stateside" project to work on as well that has already eaten many hours of my life....so, we'll see. Well, and Oz will be eating my free time as well. So, maybe not so much.The tortured life of an artist at heart.

Hey, I gotta go, so stop reading about Trump and worrying and start acting. Also, don't forget to water the grass, it's hot out there.

I saw The Breeders in Austin, here's a concert review

The year was 1998.

Or maybe it was 1999.

I had picked up Last Splash in the bargain bin a few years ago but it hadn't clicked with me. There is so much more music to consume when you're in college, so even though the album didn't gel with me, I was still happy to pick it up for "Cannonball" and "Divine Hammer" alone. So I moved on to  other albums and pretty much forgot about Last Splash. However, in the late 90's I was working out and I was bored, so I took Last Splash along.

Somewhere during a crazy long bike ride up an imaginary hill, "Do You Love Me Now?" came on and it punched me in the chest. How could this album not clicked with me?

Sure, there's some slow songs but they're weird, slow good songs (hello "Roi").  I've always thought Last Splash  was a prefect combination of surf and grunge, thoughtful but fun.  The soundscape is served on a  on a canvas of angst, forlorn love and...well, I guess bongs.  It's not a perfect album, but it's a perfect 90's album. It's charming, sad and above all, catchy. You will be humming the guitar melodies just as much as  the vocal melodies when you get hooked on the album. I can't go on without mentioning  Kim and Kelley Deal's vocals. Kim has this breathy thing going on that is amazing (surprisingly not annoying) and when the sisters sing together, it's quite lovely.

On a side note, I always loved that the band didn't try to sell itself as a "girl band" but as a band that happened to have three woman. Kim Deal was (and is) hot, in part, because she doesn't give a damn what you think.

All this is to say that the album, like all good albums, slowly weaseled its way into my heart.  

Once Napster came around I quickly picked up Safari and parts of Pod...and I also discovered the lovely and beautiful Hank William's cover,  "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)", which was a b-side off the "Divine Hammer" single.

So damn good.

I was pretty obsessed with their discography for awhile so I was excited when I learned they were coming back in the early 2000's. However, I was a disappointed with both  Title TK and Mountain Battles.   Both albums (with a few exceptions) seemed to lack the sugar rush and charm of Last Splash. The albums seemed more straight ahead, less playful but to be honest, I have never given either album a fair shake. My favorite song of this era is the insanely good cover of "Wicked Little Town". 

All this is to say when I heard a new The Breeders album was in the works last year, I was still excited to hear the new songs. I was unable to see them the last time they played in Austin, but this time I wouldn't let the opportunity pass.

Last year I had missed out on Spoon tickets here in SA (sold out in less than 3 minutes), so I was determined not to miss out on The Breeders. The concert was in Austin at Emo's and it is a much larger venue than the Aztec for Spoon and there were plenty of tickets.  I told a colleague who loves 90's rock and he decided he would join me. He's a bit of a stoner so I thought for sure he would be high or get high, but he was stone cold sober the whole trip. 

We left for Austin and had possibly the best traffic I have ever had on my way to Austin. We left SA around 6:45 on a Saturday night and there was no traffic, it was as if it God had cleared the way for us to be perfectly on-time. We arrived at Emos' a little after 8:00, and walked right in after a security check point, reminding me that it was 2018 and not 1999.

I had never been to Emo's and it was pretty cool place. Spacious, clean and reasonably priced drinks. Couldn't complain a bit. I bought a Lone Star (it was cheap) and C bought a Dos XX as we waited for the first band to start.

A punk band from Baltimore, Post Pink opened and they were impressively loud and energetic. A dash of the Ramones with a little more anger/straight ahead rock. I liked 'em. They were a perfect opener, as their songs were short and to the point. I never got bored. They definitely left you wanting more, but satisfied with what you got. Two of the members looked like they had stepped out of 1985.

As Post Pink finished up their set, I realized Emo's was packed. It was a great turnout, and we had a great spot. About 15-20 feet from the stage, dead center, with no TALL GUYS in sight. 

After a short break, The Breeders took the stage, opening with the opener from Last Splash, "New Year" followed by the banger from the new album, "Wait in the Car".  They pretty much played the new album but with heavy doses of Last Splash with a proper sprinkling of some of the best stuff from over the years.
 

It's a crappy phone photo to prove I was there.

The band was in high spirits, laughing, joking, generally looking like they were having a great time.  Well except Josephine. She just rocked out on bass, calmly, like a cool glass of water.  Kim was smiling the whole time and said "thank you" after every song, as if she wasn't expecting us to clap. Later, before "Drivin' on 9" she was giving Kelley a hard time, saying "She's even weirder than she is on stage" or something to that effect.  The band was tight for the most part with rarely a slip up and Kim, Kelley and Josephine sounded fantastic.

Drivin' on 9

I was loving the concert and I was just happy as a lark but it felt like something was missing....what was it? I mean, an extra beer would have been nice (I had to stop at two as I was driving that night), but that wasn't it.

The band finished up their set, and of course, it was time for the encore. Then it hit me. Yup, I had forgotten the song that captured my imagination all those years ago, "Do You Love Me Now?" started up, I whooped and hollered with excitement. I sang along with pleasure, never really thinking I would have the opportunity to sing along with this particular song.  I was worried about the harmonies, but they pulled it off like pros. Absolutely beautiful.

So, this show is definitely in my top five concert going experiences. It just had a certain quality that I can't put my finger on.  So if you're scoring at home, here's my top five concerts (not really in order, except for the first). Also, had to add a sixth concert on there too. That one is blog worthy all by itself.

1. Weezer, December 1996, Austin
2. The Breeders, April 2018, Austin
3. Foo Fighters, 1996 (1997?), first tour, San Antonio
4. Spoon, College Station, 1999
5. Weezer, Austin, 2011 (Pinkerton Album Tour)
6. Tripping Daisy, College Station, 1999

I know, I know, Weezer being on the list twice is pathetic, but these are the concerts I think back on with a smile.

Here's the set list:

New Year
Wait in the Car
No Aloha
Divine Hammer
Huffer
Glorious
Dawn: Making an Effort
Safari
Spacewoman
Drivin' on 9
Walking With a Killer
Fortunately Gone
S.O.S.
Off You
I Just Wanna Get Along
Cannonball
Happiness Is a Warm Gun
Skinhead #2
MetaGoth
Gigantic

Encore:
Do You Love Me Now?
Nervous Mary
Saints

Weezer Concert Review

This past summer I attended the Weezer Memories concert (The Pinkerton Night) in Austin at Stubb's.

I originally had most of this written up months ago but then I got bored and it got put on the back burner (I'm running out of room on that back burner).

I arrived in Austin about an hour before the doors opened and was shocked at the line out the door. The line stretched down the block with at least 200-300 fans ahead of me. It was weird because sometimes I feel like the only Weezer fan here in San Antonio.

Yes, it's that lonely. Lonely and shameful. I mean every time I tell someone I am a weezer fan I have to start with all these qualifiers about how their recent stuff sucks and how their 90's catalog is amazing.  

Waiting outside was not pleasant as it was hot, humid and the sun hitting me straight in the face for awhile. Once inside the shade of the amphitheater I could relax and have a beer (which due to heat was guzzled down quickly). I survived the opening band (some rap band which wasn't all that bad as I feared) and to my surprise, Weezer quickly appeared.

The band was in great form and even minor imperfections couldn't ruin a great performance. I dare say this might have been the band's best set-list ever. (HUZZAH!) From start to finish the band was having fun and in high spirits. This was my fifth time seeing Weezer (previously in 1996, 2000, 2001, and 2002) and it was most they have seemed to be "together" as I have ever seen them (well, okay, except for '96). More than any other Weezer show (or other shows I've seen recently) the band was having fun. Smiles were shared and there were some special moments between the fans and the band.

The night began with the "greatest hits" portion of the set but it quickly morphed into a hard-core Weezer fan's dream set including a song they don't often play live (The Greatest Man That Ever Lived), three b-sides from the 90's (You Gave Your Love To Me Softly, Suzanne, and Jamie) and a never-before played song (maybe the online community's most beloved of Rivers' demos), Longtime Sunshine. I couldn't believe I heard three b-sides from the 90's and Longtime Sunshine. Excuse the inner girlie fandom, but UNfreakingbelievable.

I was flipping out - albeit in a very reserved, muted fashion. I was about fifteen- twenty feet from the stage with a perfect vantage point to enjoy the show. The "tall guys" that seem to haunt me at most concerts were no where to be found. While it was a great viewing area, I was probably in the second-tier of weezer fandom. Most people around me knew Pinkerton, and many even knew Suzanne (which went down surprisingly like a big hit with the crowd) but I was on my own in my immediate vicinity with excitement for Jamie or Longtime Sunshine. It was like knowing big news but not being able to tell anyone...I was thinking, "Don't you people know how special this is?". I almost yelled "Thank you Rivers!" during a quiet moment but my self-consciousness got the best of me. I definitely should have anyway.

This was during "The Greatest Man..." I think. At one point he was singing to the people out on street on the other side of this wall. It was kinda cool. I know, I don't have a pithy comment for this. It feels awkward.

Being currently alienated from the only other person I know who would be equally excited and jealous I was there....I found myself in a weird position. I knew no one that I knew would care what was happening (I even pathetically scrolled through my contacts list to make sure I wasn't forgetting someone). I texted my wife out of the sheer need to contact a fellow human being. Of course she replied but she didn't care about Weezer's set anymore than any of my other friends. (Thanks anyway, Honey!)

The "hits" set (for lack of a better term) had the band performing as a five-piece with Pat (the drummer) doubling on guitar and Brian (usually guitar) going between the guitar and the keyboard. Brian actually looked alive and was having fun....at most of the shows I have attended or seen, he's just chilling. One show (2002) he barely looked alive. This was the whole reason I set up on the right side of the stage away from the Sassmaster.

I was obviously a lot closer but this is just a general shot of Stubb's and this seemed like a good place for a photo.

Pat and Scott were on my side of the stage. Pat was rocking out and having a blast, I am glad he gets to play some gee-tar now and then. Scott (Bass) was devastating with the "happy to be here" look in his eye as usual. Rivers climbed around like a moron as he is wont to do with these mainstream sets. Oddly it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I have to admit, it was kinda cool to see him climb into the crowd around me, at one point less than ten feet away.

I compare the banter between songs at concerts much like the conversation I want from my food servers: not enough leaves me feeling like I'm not even there - too much and I find it annoying and/or awkward. Rivers did great this time around, with enough mix-up's with the set and a cheesy "time travel" theme ("we're taking it back to 1995...") to keep the mood light. There seemed to be some hesitation with Longtime Sunshine - like the band was thinking, I hope this goes over well - and to many a surprise, many cheered when the song was introduced.

The experience was a little bittersweet, as I had no one to enjoy the concert with nor could I indulge myself with more than two beers as I had a long trip home later that night (I counted 13 police cars on the way to and from Austin)! Nevertheless, the concert was amazing.

Here's the set with some comments.

 Memories - Off their latest album, Hurley. Not a fan of this song, and it's the only "meh" song out of the entire concert. Honestly though, it's a great opener for this tour and there are tons of other Weezer songs that are much more cringe-worthy than this one.

 The Greatest Man That Ever Lived - Off of the Red Album - technically, this is a difficult song to pull off live and well.... it showed. It's really a studio song - but I'm happy to have heard it as it's not played often. Giving the challenges it sounded good. The band was up for it and Rivers got up on the roof-top to sang out the 8th street audience on the other side of the wall at one point. Surprisingly, lots of cheers for this song as well.

 Perfect Situation - love, love, love the intro solo. Even if I think the original "woahs" are better from the studio version -- like a lot in the Weezer catalog, this song seems so much better live.

 Dope Nose - Scott on lead vocals. This is just a fun song. Scott does a great job with a vocally easy song.

 Hash Pipe - rocking out. Love me the drums on this one.

 You Gave Your Love To Me Softly - the first of the B-sides played. The band has always loved this song (it's the most-oft played non-album song to be sure) and it's a catchy little ditty.

 Suzanne - Wonderful song and a total surprise. The fans went crazy as it seemed everyone knew this (I take it from the Mallrats movie and soundtrack). One of my favorites of the night - Rivers has gone back to his original lyrics as well, using the "Kurt Cobain" line now (at the release it was changed as it was still in the wake of Kurt's suicide).

 Longtime Sunshine - This was the surprise and highlight of the night. Jaw droppingly good and I can now say I have seen the live premiere of LTS, "Don't Let Go", "Always" and "Island in the Sun". That's kinda cool.

 Jamie - Following LTS, I was ready for "Buddy Holly" or "Undone" - but they went straight into a song that needs no "introduction" (really?) - Jamie. It' my least favorite blue b-side but damn if it almost didn't change my mind by the end of this performance - it sounded so much heavier and together than the recording we do have (although that recording has its qualities as well).

 Only In Dreams - this is the most over-rated in the weezer online community and I still love it. It was great hearing it again for the first time since 96. Great performance and epic crescendo.

Intermission / Slide Show

 Tired Of Sex

 Getchoo

 No Other One

 Why Bother?

 Across The Sea - Sounded great. This is probably my favorite song of all-time, so I was a bit on cloud 9 - singing along. Being "in the moment" doesn't always make for a great recollection.

 The Good Life - the band really nailed this one - for whatever reason, it stuck out as a great performance.

 El Scorcho

 Pink Triangle

 Falling For You - Amazing solo and Rivers seemed to have a blast. He actually jumped into the audience on this one - which he usually doesn't do in the second half of the Memories shows.

 Butterfly

I stared at this pic forever trying to find myself and realized it was for the Blue Album night. :( 
 I would have been about ten feet (??) in front of the at tree on the left.