Long Time Gone!

Well, I didn't really mean to let a month go by without a single post, but I spent three long weekends in a row at three music festivals in three different states. I'm pretty happy to be home this weekend (and likely every weekend until mid-October), but I saw a lot of great music, ate a lot of great food, and spent time with some pretty great friends. And took a lot of crappy photos.

Here's what's in the photos above:
Top Row, Newport Folk Festival: What Cheer? Brigade waiting for a boat, Andrew Bird, Scenic View from beer pier, Avetts in a golf cart.
Middle Row, Solid Sound Festival: Wilco sign at Mass MoCA, knitting Blue Monday on the train to western MA, Jeff Tweedy, Wilco.
Bottom Row, Pickathon: Langhorne Slim rocking the barn, Frank Fairfield, Woody Pines

Bumbershoot will be the fifth and last festival of the summer, and thankfully it's on my home turf. In between now and then, I've got some knitting to work on, some sewing that's been neglected, baseball games to attend, and a whole lot of other stuff to catch up one. Busy, busy summer!

January Made Me Shiver *

January started out so promising for blogging and knitting, but hit a tailspin mid-month. Out of town guests, crazy amounts of work, and a constant feeling that I'm just barely keeping my grip on things took higher priority. I'm back, for now, but a new whirlwind is starting up next week (most likely to be paid for in the weeks after).

A quick recap of what I HAVE been managing to do, clockwise from top left:

Photo #1: Started a new cardigan, using Sundara Yarn sport. I know, I know, it's a really big financial commitment to knit a whole sweater out of it, and I have a poor track record with sweater finishing. But I'm keeping this simple, and hoping it will work out. The pattern is Ysolda Teague's Coraline, a bottom up cardigan with a smocking-patterned yoke. My two concerns at this point are whether or not my gauge is correct, and whether or not this will be the right size when it's finished. Gauge is one variable, but the other is that I'm not totally sure what I will weigh once this sweater is finished. I've been running really regularly since mid-November and have lost about 20lbs, and am planning to lose more. Technically, I have total control over both of these variables, but that's really too many moving parts for me to accurately predict. I will state for the record that I will not deliberately gain weight in order to wear this sweater, but that I'm not sure that I have the nerve to rip it out if it's too big (or too small).

Photo #2: After finishing a week in which I nearly "lost my shit" (as the kids say) pretty much every day, I decided to go to Boise to see Langhorne Slim on the spur of the moment. Yes, I went by myself, and no, I don't know anyone in Boise. There were so many ways I could have been disappointed by this trip, but it was incredibly fun and just exactly what I needed. I've seen Langhorne Slim a few times before, so I knew that the show would be great, especially in a smaller setting, but travelling last minute & without a lot of planning carries a fair amount of risk with it--where to stay, how to get around, are people going to be friendly, etc. Really, I knew that everything was going to be fine when I stepped off the plane & saw six fantastic pinball machines in the waiting area. Awesome. And the bar had Addams family pinball, my old favorite/nemisis from Sundays at the Bow & Arrow in Harvard Square. In my sheer delight at being in a place where I felt so at home (it even smelled like my 20's--people still smoke in bars in Boise), I was a little overfriendly with the locals (and the musicians). I'm not sure that bringing it up here will ease my embarassment, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Photo #3: I've been working on another Ysolda pattern, the Peak's Island Hood, in Cascade Soft Spun. It's a scarf that has a hood built into it and that buttons under the neck. Not so practical for the 50 degree weather we're having here, and it will probably be warmer still before I finish! I'm hoping to find some nice vintagey buttons at the Sewing Expo at the end of the month (or in the sewing room in my house--I suppose I should look their first).

Photo #4: This is where I stayed in Boise--look at the snow! I really dressed for warmer weather, but brought along the socks that E___ knit for me last year. It was a wise choice, my feet were nice and warm on the way home.

So next week is all about Wilco (Tuesday in Portland and Wednesday in Seattle), Knitting (Madrona starts on Thursday, Ravelympics starts on Friday), and trying to keep things moving forward. Wish me luck!

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* Yes, it's the wrong month, but it fits.

Bumbershoot 2009: Before it Started Raining

clockwise from top left: Message pulled by an old timey plane, Mayer Hawthorne & the County, Space Needle, Old 97's

It's been a wet weekend here in the Seattle area, and I mean torrential rain & thunder & lightening--fall is officially here. I made it to Bumbershoot on Saturday, when it was relatively dry, but it was much too wet yesterday and it's not clear yet today whether I'll get out of the house--I've got to get some work done and get psyched up for the crowds before I make a final decision.

So the photo pool from Saturday is a little light. I got to the Center around 3, saw three or four bands before meeting up with friends for a beer & then the Old 97s (in the top left photo). The Old '97s were the highlight of the day, as they were last year. Possibly because Rhett Miller wore the same shirt? I'm not going to say it wasn't a factor.

It's Always So Much More Work to Come Home

I know that it's probably because I kept waking hours that not at all correspond to Pacific time, but I'm much more wiped out after flying back to Seattle this morning than I was flying to Boston on the redeye.

The Wilco show was great, although it was cut short by TORRENTIAL RAIN. The concert was at a minor league ballpark, so the sound was not as good as it was at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, but I enjoyed the crowd much more. For some reason, I find Boston hipsters tolerable and entertaining, where the Berkeley hipsters rubbed me the wrong way--probably because at one time I was a Bostonian in my 20s, so I know more or less what to expect with them. The set list was similar to Berkeley, and the energy was really good, and it was really great to go to a show with seven people--more people to hold our space, scout out the ballpark, carry the blankets, and (of course) pick up beer! Conor Oberst (in the top left photo) opened the show, and I was disappointed. I have (and like) one of his Bright Eyes albums, so maybe my expectations were too high. Based on what Wikipedia says (and it makes sense, and is a totally valid artistic choice), he's more interested in immediacy than heavily polished songcraft--some of the songs felt overly ernest to me, and could have benefitted from some heavy editing. I mean, I know I'm no longer in the indie-rock target demographic, but it was hilarious to see frat guys singing along as if their souls had been saved by a song about ten women. Maybe without that visual, it wouldn't have seemed so ridiculous? I'm sure that I felt the same way at that age about bands I've forgotten now. Anyway, that set could have been shorter, given that the last 30-45 minutes of Wilco's set was rained out.

Here's a little video clip, where you can see the rain. I'm serious when I said it was pouring--you can see the rain in the lights around the 8 sec mark!!!

In concert knitting news, I worked a couple of inches of the gussets on the Strawberry Van Dykes at the show, and finished the first sock on the plane ride home. The socks aren't as tall as I'd have liked, but I was worried about running out of yarn partway through a repeat. The pattern is a little boring, but it was really easy to knit on the road (when I paid attention, that is), and with a red that bright the pattern is secondary in any case. Toe #2 is on the needles now!

When We're Not Sure We're Not Alone

Whenever I plan to post about a concert, I have the best intentions of infusing my post with the pure rock emotion of the actual show, and I fail every time. I'm not a poetic, lyrical writer, as much as I'd like to be, which makes it difficult. I'm a boiler-down of ideas, if not a master-summarizer, with a small side order of humor and self-reflection. A very small side order. Any attempts to stray from my writing style reeks of smarmy-ness, which isn't really an issue if I'm writing about knitting, or dachshunds, or baseball, but I worry that it flattens out the rock show experience into Wesley-Willis-style reviews. You know, "I went to the rock show. There were about 100 people at the show. The rock show was awesome, it whooped the camel's ass" (for those of you unfamiliar with Wesley Willis, this is as close to a direct song quote as I can get without digging out a cd). Plus, while I take a lot of (semi-focused, point and shoot) photos, I don't write down anything during shows, so while I remember many of the hideously 80's inspired clothes that todays youth were unfortunately wearing, I can't faithfully recreate a set list--basically, I'm short on useful details, and long on tangents.

Anyway, that's a lot of space to apologize in advance if I undersell the Wilco show I saw last night at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, because it was truly a great show. Possibly the best Wilco show I've ever seen, with perfect sound, an incredible venue, and incredible energy. Note that I say this even though I tripped and badly turned my ankle almost immediately after getting out of my car, which made standing on concrete (and getting jostled by stoned hipsters) for hours physically uncomfortable. And if you are my brother K____ and reading this, I turned my ankle before having a single, 12-oz Heineken, so no smart comments.

Wilco's new album is coming out on Tuesday (currently streaming live here), and they mixed in the new songs with the old, which is always a plus--I hate to go to a show and hear one or two old songs, then an entire new album that I haven't heard yet, a couple of other old songs, and then one big hit as an encore. Stylistically, maybe it makes sense, but as a live-music consumer (ugh, what an awful term), I don't like it--it's too compartmentalized. Anyway, Wilco's set was really well balanced, if a little light on songs from their first album. I think that every album was represented in the set list, but I don't always remember which songs are on which albums so I can't say for sure. They didn't play my all-time favorite two-song Wilco combo (Blue Eyed Soul and Too Far Apart from A.M.), but maybe next time? Pretty please? You want song highlights, and not just the two songs that I wished I'd heard? I loved "You Are My Face", and "Hate It Here", and "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" is a really great live song. And I could go on and on.

Now a little something for the knitting-only readers: Since I was travelling by myself and am unfamiliar with the Berkeley area, I arrived over an hour before the doors opened, so I had a long wait & was glad that I brought some knitting. Then it was another long wait before Okkervil River (who were also really good--must get one of their albums immediately) went on. I had a nice shady spot in line and in the theater, and I managed to finish the gusset and turn the heel of the first SS09 sock, as documented in the iPhone photo below. I'm a little afraid to pick it up today, in case I made any mistakes. Also, although the photo is very fuzzy, there was a sock monkey onstage. A semi-goth, charcoal/black striped sock monkey.

O.K, this post is taking way too long, and it's time to ice my ankle again. Comment away, if you want more details about the show, the sock, the sock monkey, or the ankle.


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"When We're Not Sure We're Not Alone": Wilco, "You Are My Face"

Taking This Show on the Road

I guess it would be more accurate to say that I'm taking to the road for a show, since I flew to Northern CA this morning to catch a Wilco show in Berkeley tonight. If you're interested in the show, it's going to be streamed live on the Wilco website. I knit quite a bit of Cabana Boy socks on the flight down, more than I expected. Gotta love sport-weight yarn! I also have the SS09 socks with me in case I get bored--as well as a plan to visit some local yarn stores this afternoon. I'm having the typical quick trip dilemma, though--run myself ragged now and regret it when I'm driving back to the hotel after the show, or take a delicious, sweet nap. The nap is currently winning that argument.

If the formatting of this post looks stranger than usual, it's because I'm using a new tool. It's a Dell mini laptop, and I'm still getting used to the touchpad. It's a LOT more convenient than taking a big laptop, and is more powerful and solid feeling than the eee tiny laptop that I took with me to Europe last year. The jury is still out on whether I can learn to stop dragging my fingers on the touchpad, though!

I brought more things with me than I think I'll need, but here's what I've realized I forgot, so far: a brush. I'm hoping keeping track will help me on the next trip . . .

I Was 21 Years When I Wrote This Song

Billy Bragg, Somerville MA, Oct. 21 2008

The first time I saw Billy Bragg, in the fall of 1987, 21 was a few years away, but I can't believe how young it feels to me now. I have to get up really early to catch a flight back to Seattle tomorrow, but I'll be singing Levi Stubb's Tears in my head the whole way home. And for days.

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I Was 21 Years When I Wrote This Song: "A New England," Billy Bragg. Check out this 1991 video.

'Cause I Didn't Think This Would Happen Again

I saw Liz Phair this week, performing all of the songs from her 1993 album "Exile in Guyville". The show was great--this is the kind of album that even after 15 years reminds me what my life was like then, when I was young, and struggling to pay off my first set of student loans, and going out five nights a week (but leaving the shows early to catch the T, because I couldn't pay for a taxi). I think that the last time I saw her was in '93 or '94, but I remember very little about that first show so I could just be imagining it. It would have been in Boston, at a club called Axis, and it may have been part of a massive radio-sponsored block party. I can see Liz Phair, who was at that time noted for having stage fright, being very nervous on stage. I don't know if I'm remembering the right show, I really don't. Corroborating evidence, anyone?

Wherever You Go, Wherever You Land

clockwise from top left: Tanglewood is pretty, Wilco Rocks, Annie Monkey also loves Wilco, Wilco Rocks Some More

Ah, to be back in Boston, for more than 48 hours. I probably did as much in 5 days as I normally do in a weekend trip, but with much more sleep thrown in. Not very productive, but I'm not as wiped out as I would be otherwise, so that's great.

The Wilco show at Tanglewood was the big event, and it was a completely different kind of show than the Fairbanks show I went to last month. In Fairbanks, the vibe was very laid back, and the venue and crowd were relatively small, so it was easy to get close to the stage and/or move around. Plus, it was still light out when the show ended--that was unusual for me. At Tanglewood, the vibe was much more energetic, much more rock, with a full horn section and glittery, Nudie-suit type outfits. Our seats were pretty far away from the stage, though the view was still o.k.--the Boston Symphony Orchestra performs at Tanglewood all summer, so the layout is meant for a seated audience and there isn't enough slope to provide great views to the back. The place was also p-a-c-k-e-d. I loved it! Loved it! (I would have loved it more if they had played my request for Blue Eyed Soul / Too Far Apart, but not much more).

Other highlights:

• A trip to Tanglewoods meant that we drove close enough to Northampton for a side trip to Webs. I picked up some yarn--are you surprised? There was a lot of yarn there, in a lot of colors. I wish that I had been more prepared to shop, but then again, I still probably picked up more than I needed.
• The All Star Sandwich Bar. Seriously, if you are in the greater Cambridge / Inman Square area, you must eat there. And you must order a side dish of sweet pickles, and you really should also have an order of devilled eggs. 99 cents for three egg halves!
• Miracle of Science is also delicious, if you are closer to Central Square.
• Emma's pizza is also delicious, and I've almost forgiven them for not smoking their own chicken anymore.
• I highly recommend hanging out with my friends, particularly if an evening of trivia (or cancelled-due-to-electrical-outage-trivia) is part of your plans. But if I revealed their true whereabouts, they wouldn't have time for me when I come to visit, so you'll just have to ferret them out on your own. Bars are a good place to start looking.
• Mamma Mia is a really fun movie. There, A___, I said it! Fun!

I did some more knitting too, on the Orange Oolongs, and will post photos tomorrow or over the weekend--got to get back to them now!

July, July, July! Never Seemed So Strange

clockwise from top left: One of Heart Monkey's Boston relatives and I discuss his intake of Planter's Punch, two photos of Wilco in Fairbanks, where it was probably close to 10pm when I took these photos, Farm Sign at J__ and T_'s Wedding

It's been a pretty crazy week around these parts. A 48 hour trip to Somerville / Cape Cod, a bout of incredibly horrible food poisoning on Wed night / Thursday, a 12 hour trip to Fairbanks to see Wilco, and the wonderful wedding (or committment ceremony, if you prefer) of my dear friend T_ to his partner J__. Everything was very tightly planned, except for the food poisoning, and I think that I've held up pretty well, except for the food poisoning. Did I mention the food poisoning? Let's never discuss it again. Today, I'm loafing around, napping, knitting a tiny bit, and trying not to resent that I couldn't stay out late enough for wedding cake last night. In other words, I'm giving moderation a try--I'll let you know how it goes.

Sing Me to Sleep, Sing Me to Sleep

The Neighborhoods, Wellfleet MA, July 19,2008

Back in Seattle, exhausted, but really glad that I went out to Boston for the rock show. I saw as many people beforehand as I could, ate some delicious meals, knit very little, and slept less than 12 hours (not including airplanes or naps) in three nights. Whew!

Seven Nights to Rock

One of Heart Monkey's Relatives, Cambridgeside Galleria

My plans for this summer include a lot of music, and this is a particularly busy time for that. 3 rock shows in 10 days in 3 states--and except for tonight's show in MA, I'm not talking about close-together states, either. I get a little tired just thinking about it! I'm also visiting some of Heart Monkey's relatives, though I'm not sure that the one above will be at the rock show tonight--according to J____, he's pretty busy.

The first show was on Wednesday--Aimee Mann at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Good show, but uneven sound and far too many people. Beautiful weather, though! I guess you can tell that we sat pretty far back, and weren't super engaged when you see the photos I took.

Here's one of the ice cream line:

This is the ice cream that E__ and I ate:

I love the new Aimee Mann album, by the way.

Rock Show #2 up tonight! Followed a few hours later by a loooong flight back home. I'll try to get some non-ice cream related photos, although it's super hot and muggy here!

I've Seen You on the Beach and I've Seen You on TV

Dancing at a Duran Duran concert takes a lot more effort than I imagined when I was 13, or than I remember from the last time I saw them. In 1988, I think it was. Anyway, the show was a lot of fun, and they played the hits, and I bought a shirt with a shiny Duran Duran logo. So who am I to complain, about sore muscles and a cramped up neck?

Maybe the Sun Will Shine Today

The sun came out just long enough yesterday to warm up the evening, in time for Wilco's show at Marymoor Park. I enjoyed the show a lot--I was about 15 feet from the stage, so I could see really well. The crowd (sell-out, maybe 5,000?) was totally reasonable, not much pushing forward or space-invading dancing except at the very end. All of Wilco's albums were represented, but I would have loved more A.M. (though I was thrilled to hear Too Far Apart). The songs from Sky Blue Sky sounded great live, too--it all did, really. I first heard Sky Blue Sky when the band's website was streaming it as a preview, and I listened to it late at night over headphones. It's definitely a record that sounds good that way, it's a direct-to-brain kind of experience, and this doesn't always translate to the live rock show. I've been going to see Wilco as regularly as possible for over 10 years (I think I first saw them before or just as A.M. was released), and this show was as good or better than any others I've seen.