"Johnny Cash died today, and you'd say, you'd say, "It's not like Elvis, it's not like Elvis, it's not like Elvis, it's not like Elvis, though, is it?" And you would be right." ~the wave pictures

I went to a concert tonight. It was sooo good. It was at South Street Seaport, which is a beautiful place for a concert; behind the stage were ships docked at the pier. I got a spot in the center of the front row. FIrst up was Slow Club. I love them. Love, love, love them. Of the three bands that played, I was most eager to see them. They were great, but their set was too short. They closed with "Christmas TV," one of my favorite songs (it was featured in the season finale of Chuck). I was all ready to take a perfect video of the last song, and then they came down into the crowd to play the song. They opened the barricades right in front of me to get by, and there was a funny moment with Charles getting his foot stuck. They did the song acoustically, without mics or anything. It was beautiful, although I selfishly kind of wished they had stayed onstage so I could have gotten a better video (but this was still pretty cool). Their cameraman and a photographer were really blocking my view. I focused on Rebecca because I had a better view of her than of Charles. It was so difficult for me not to sing along, but I didn't want to spoil the audio so I mouthed all the words instead. Anyway, here's what I ended up with:


The Wave Pictures were next. I'm a fan of theirs and I enjoyed them as well. I took of them performing my favorite song of theirs, "Now You Are Pregnant." The sound on the video is really weird, though; it's not good (and I don't know why, because it's a quiet song and usually those are fine). So I'm not posting it yet. I'll probably try to use the audio from my audio recording and synch it with the video; is anyone really good at that? It was a beautiful version of the song.

CasioKids closed out the show. I didn't stay for their whole set. It was a really good evening, though. Beautiful weather, beautiful location, and great music; what more could you ask for? The pictures I took didn't turn out well at all because of the lighting. I got audio that hopefully I'll share eventually. I have six concerts recorded from the last month or so that I haven't tracked yet; I'm really behind. I'm not sure how good this one will be, though; the front row is the worst spot from which to record. We'll see.

"Some will win, some will lose, some were born to sing the blues. Oh, the movie never ends, it goes on and on and on and on." ~journey

I was planning on being back in my apartment last night around 11 after seeing a play with my cousin, and I ended up getting home about 24 hours late. I spent the night at my aunt and uncle's apartment, and spent the day there as well. My cousin D.J. was kind enough to let me sleep in his room (he has two beds). They have lots of good food. But most importantly, they're good company. I packed my cousin's trunk for camp and made her bed and helped in the kitchen, so I didn't feel too bad about invading their apartment. I love how my aunt doesn't treat me like a guest. Bess will offer to get me a drink or food or something, and my aunt will always say something like, "she can help herself." It feels like home there. I love that. And I feel like I can be a goofball around Bess. We're goofballs together. Here we are hanging out today (we were camera-happy):

This is what Bess wore to CVS (we found the cane there):
We rode scooters there (and inside the store)

Kung Fu Fighting:
Artsy (see, I'm on her camera screen):

We played a lot of cards, sang a lot, watched old TV, watched Glee, sang Journey for the rest of the day, scootered around the sidewalks of Manhattan...it was a good day.

"It's like your head is stuck in a tightening vise. Your ears are deaf to your friends’ advice. Because you know that your heart will never be full. It doesn't always have to be beautiful, Unless its beautiful." ~slow club

I went to a screening of A Perfect Getaway tonight. I like scary movies a lot, so I was excited to see it. It was okay; not great, not awful. First of all, it was way too predictable. I saw the "twist" coming from a mile away. It was kind of scary; I jumped out of my seat once, and people around me screamed a few times. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Now I'm not eager to go hiking in Hawaii, but it certainly was gorgeous and there were some great shots in the film (camera-wise, not gunshots, although there were those too).


I have a fun week this week. Tomorrow I'm going to a youth theatre play. I'm taking my cousins Bess and D.J., and they're always great to hang out with. I'm going to a concert on Friday; Slow Club and The Wave Pictures are playing (along with CasioKids). I love Slow Club, and The Wave Pictures have some great songs, so I'm looking forward to it. (Denise, if you're reading, go listen to Slow Club). I think I'm going with Bess to see Jason Mraz on The Today Show on Friday. I'll be seeing my dad sometime this weekend while he's here for work. I'm going to rush the Broadway play Mary Stuart one day. I want to do as much as I can in my last week here before I go to Colorado. I don't know what I'm going to do there for three weeks. Here there's always a concert to attend or a play to see, but Durango's a different story.

I have to end with this. I love this book, and based on the trailer that was just released, the movie actually looks really good. I think Peter Jackson might have done a good job (fingers crossed). And I love the casting of Saoirse Ronan as Susie.

ETA: Okay, that video was removed really quickly. Here's a link to the trailer for The Lovely Bones.

"And she dreams of sunflowers bent over, frozen in the snow, and thinks 'Colorado.' But then plays her life back in slow motion, to keep in touch with that raw emotion. In the night, crushed empty can, Olive Oyle's waiting for her man to come in from the fight that will change their life for good this time....When all of your tears dry, let your troubles roll by. When all of your tears dry, let your troubles roll by. When all of your tears dry, let your troubles roll by, let your troubles roll by." ~carbon leaf

That refrain, "When all of your tears dry, let your troubles roll by," really calls out to me. Because it's not saying 'Don't cry;' instead it acknowledges that you're going to cry, and that's okay. For some reason it always reminds me of John Milton's Lycidas. It's such a beautiful and bittersweet poem, but the end especially gets me. I love this part: "There entertain him all the Saints above,/In solemn troops, and sweet Societies/That sing, and singing in their glory move,/And wipe the tears for ever from his eyes." That line, "And wipe the tears for ever from his eyes," is just so sad. It's an allusion to Revelation 7:17, "...and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." But Milton's addition of "for ever" makes it heartbreaking because it suggests a continual wiping of tears; the tears don't end. It coincides with the cycle introduced in the first line, "Yet once more...." and emphasizes the "Ay me!" that really sticks out to me. The poem is just brilliant; it's one of my absolute favorite poems. I used to have the first stanza memorized; I should go back and see how well it stuck.

Sorry, that's all I've got for today. I guess I'm in an academic mood. See, this is what happens when you listen to your iPod on shuffle. A random song that I haven't listened to in awhile comes on and it somehow inspires me to think about a poem that I love. That's why I love the shuffle feature, though; you never know what you're gonna get.
It seems like I'm posting more often now, so hopefully I'll come up with something more interesting soon. But go read "Lycidas." At least a few times. Or scroll down and listen to the M. Ward songs I posted.

"Then when there's no one to care, I could protect you like I've always been there. I'll become your bear. I'll sing statistics and hide the truth, I'll tell your dad anything that you want me to. I'll hide your locket under the dirt, I'll be your bird. I'll hide your locket under the dirt, I'll be your bird." ~m. ward

I think music is the best form of therapy. Go to an M. Ward concert (like I did tonight) and tell me you don't feel better afterwards. It automatically cheers you up; it's impossible to not get swept up in the beautiful energy of his music. I LOVE his voice. He is one of the most talented guitar players I've ever seen; I spent a good deal of time just staring at his fingers, amazed by how fast they moved. He's just wonderful. Unfortunately he didn't play my favorite song of his, "I'll be Yr Bird" (quoted above). Or "Hi-Fi," or "You Still Believe in Me" (two more favorites). In fact, I'm not sure he did more than one song from Transistor Radio (my favorite album of his). He very well may have, but I'm drawing a blank right now; all I can think of is "Big Boat." I'll have to listen to my recording. He mostly stuck to material from his newest album, Hold Time. But I was glad he did "Poison Cup," one of my favorite songs (from Post-War). I love his work in She & Him (with Zooey Deschanel), but I love his solo work as well and was glad to see him perform solo. We had a great spot, too. Nic got in line pretty early, for which I was grateful.

We weren't allowed to take pictures, but I managed to sneak a few. Obviously they're not very good because I was holding my camera to my chest inconspicuously (I couldn't hold it up in the air at all) and couldn't use a flash.



And here are a few random M. Ward tracks that I love (obviously by no means a complete collection, just some that are running through my head right now based on my mood):
(I might post my live recording here once I upload it.)

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