Repeat to yourself “it’s just a blog, I should really just relax”
I saw Daikaiju tonight, a mere four months since they came here last. And I actually brought my camera for once. All I got at their last show was a crappy cellphone pic of the destroyed stage at the end of the night, and all it looked like on that crappy camera was a bunch of red and something that may have been a drum.
To make up for last time, I took way too many pics… »
Not pictured: The actual bands themselves (who were awesome and loud and awesomely loud), because I don’t like bringing my SLR to major/crowded shows (I also prefer to, you know, just remember those).
Also not pictured: The most delicious burrito I ever ate in my entire life. You can believe me now, for I have had many burritos in many cities.
Should have been pictured: This would have been the perfect chance to bring Travel Bot along, but I plum forgot. He lives in my camera bag. You know, the bag for the camera I don’t bring to major shows?
Say hello to Millimeter Mountain (whose singer may look familiar to astute readers). This show was shot, as always, in Streak-O-Vision.
Not pictured: the drunken jackass who did not like the use of maracas.
…of live music photography, and how my equipment is not up to the task without resorting to “space effects”, here’s a batch from May that I forgot to post. In this case, the “space effects” were appropriate, since they are from the future.*
I’m not sure which of the duo is the one I work with, since they both have the Same Haircut. Sorry for that awful pun, but not really.
*Good news: in the future, I bought 3 copies of their CD, which is not yet out in my time.
In which I attempt to photograph a band, give up, and settle for “space effects” (flash + slowish shutter).
I discovered my new delay/looping pedal can do continuous notes. No gaps! My old pedal (which admittedly wasn’t so hot) couldn’t do this. I didn’t think my new one could do it either, until I accidentally did the following:
At some point I should really make a video of this process, so I can put it on youtube and have everyone say that it’s FAKE. Yeah, about that: see below!
NOTE, FROM THE FUTURE: Here is a totally FAKE video I made:
ANOTHER NOTE, ALSO FROM THE FUTURE: The line noise/quiet output only seems to be a problem with headphone rockin’ (which is a problem in many other ways). I’ve been playing through an amp, really loudly, and the output’s been fine. The line noise is about what you’d expect when you also have a billion other pedals, so no complaints here.
On Thursday I went with a car full of girls to see some Pixies up in Chicago. I was a bit worried at first, because the last time I was at the Aragon it sounded like muffled ass, and I was also wary of reunion shows. But then again, I have loved the Pixies for almost 20 years, and they were playing Doolittle all the way through, a-and the car full of girls…
…and anyway, once they started playing it was all magical and great. They even did all the b-sides! I spent most of the show either grinning like an idiot, fighting back Manly Tears™, or screaming like a girl. The best part was that they were enjoying themselves (I saw them in 1991 when they all kinda hated each other, and it wasn’t the same). The other best part was the whole audience singing along to every song, even the b-sides.
Honorable mention for “best part” goes to the 7 foot tall Eurodude in the tracksuit who was dancing and jumping like he was trying to punch God up in heaven. I think his energy alone brought the band out for the second encore.
I keep forgetting to do this list, but this is one of those weird phenomena that I have noticed. Say there is a band you like. No, not them, that other one. Similar names are the death of me, especially when I love one band and hate the other. I spent years of my life not liking Chavez, because I saw a video by Gomez (which I hated), and the names were permanently mixed up in my mind.
SOOOOO, in no particular order (except alphabetical), and varying levels of similarity…
It seems like there were more, but my memory is terrible—which is why I am always mixing these groups up in my head to begin with.
Last Saturday I went to the farmer’s market in Urbana, because I got word that my brother Dan was going to be playing. That turned out not to be true, so here are some other people instead.
The Flight of the Conchords theme song
plus
“Only” by Nine Inch Nails
equals
one of those “mashed up” songs that the kids seem to like
I was working this out in my Mind the whole walk home. Tonight I walked home at 126 beats per minute. The whole process was made infinitely easier thanks to nin.com‘s remix section, which is a cool idea.