Support Your Local Catgun has survived spring break. And a nation mourns. Philly was fun! I got blisters and a Puma jacket. Music reviews will be forthcoming this week, as I had a chance to download my monthly quota from eMusic yesterday. I was particularly happy that eMusic had the Coraline soundtrack!
Go see Coraline. Don't make me argue about this with you.
On to the A.C. Newman show! The opening band was the Broken West, who may or may not have played with Kevin Costner or something like that. They were too loud but not awful; mostly, their songs were consistent but not climactic enough. They play a friendly brand of electrified power-pop that was definitely in its element; off hand, I would compare them to Immaculate Machine.
A.C. Newman and his band were particularly good. They covered most of the songs from his two solo albums - The Slow Wonder and Get Guilty - for a fairly rowdy St. Patrick's day crowd. I'm happy to report that Newman and his band sound amazing in person, with no drop-off from the quality of sound with the recording. Newman and his band eschewed the traditional encore, choosing to play everything on stage without leaving and waiting for applause.
Highlights included, well, most everything. In particular, the moments between songs allowed Newman to speak to the crowd; he's very friendly and funny, to be honest. I wish I had recorded or transcribed some of the things he said - especially bits about fiddles in Canada and editing Dan Bejar's Wikipedia page - but he mostly just seems like a pretty decent guy. What songs did I most enjoy? "The Cloud Prayer", as it has a trumpet, and some of his newer songs ("There are Maybe Ten or Twelve", "All of My Days and All of My Days Off") were great too.
All things considered, the show was wonderful, and the trip was good too. I have blisters that are mending but still sore, though time should heal these. I missed my guitar and capoeira, to say the least, but this week should be more rigorous if less carefree.
In Other News:
All of that was the other news.
I'm going to be an uncle again early next week! I'm anxious, though I'm sure everything will be fine.
The Author
Well, not really.
About Me
- Bones of an Idol
- Professionally, I work in information technology for a school. I do a little of everything: support, training, database, website, purchasing, strategy. My job appeals to my love of challenges, solving problems, and helping people.
Outside of work, I enjoy exercise (I used to practice capoeira, but largely run and lift weights now), writing short fiction, and playing the guitar. I am a largely self-taught guitarist and generally do not rock very hard.
I am currently enrolled in the MBA program at Drake University. Focusing on my coursework has curtailed my 'hobbies' somewhat, but I plan to graduate in Fall of 2013.
I am partial to travel, cats, black licorice and peanut butter.