road trip, destination: ROCK!

so after my 2.5 hrs of sleep, Brad came over and we left, picking Justin H. up...(you may recall i slept at David's...he went too...) not too much concerning the drive up...though in Kentucky, there's some place called Diamond Caverns...we found that immensely amusing...we found our hotel and did some wacky highschool sneaking 2 "extra" ppl up...then we went off for the venue...we stopped at a Walgreen's along the way so i could get some earplugs and not go deaf from the ballstompin' rock to be put forth by Mogwai...we arrived just as they were starting to let the line out front inside...we hit the merch table first off...they had these shirts that they made w/ spray paint and stencils...they were all different...they didn't have many left but the one i got says "MOGWAI JESUS KNIFE"...i also got a Rock Action Records Glasgow shirt...[note: stuff written in between giant groups of asterisks is prob'ly something you don't wanna read...so you might wanna skip to the next set of asterisks...] ********while waiting for the show to start i started to notice some brack a'brewin'...it wasn't bothering me terribly but i had horrible visisions of the middle of Mogwai's set w/ me having to rush to the bathroom or even soiling myself...so i went to the scope the bathroom out...and to my surprise it was actually reasonably clean w/ two stalls that actually had functioning doors on them! (a rarity for any venue to have...) so i took a dump at a show for the first time ever...i don't know why i mention this...i guess 'cuz it was the first time and the state of said restrooms was a shock to me or something...yea...but continuing on******** the first band (The Mighty Flashlight) was pretty terrible...bad and countryish...there was this one guy that looked as if the band had just picked up from the local train yard a few hours before the show...he played recorder, this hand drum, and finger cymbals...and mumbled backing vocals you couldn't hear...and the singer looked like the byproduct of Ron Olson and Tom Waits doing it...except inheriting all of Ron Olson's suck...(he's a morning dj at a crappy radio station here...for you non-Memphians...) the next band was Parlour...they're from Louisville and really good...they played all instrumentals and kind've sounded somewhere between Tristeza, Mogwai, and Radiohead...(maybe the Radiohead's a stretch...but a lot of the guitarists' sequenced stuff reminded me somewhat...) they also had a projector playing nifty images behind them...it was pretty rad...

now: Mogwai: i don't know if i even need to say it, but it was one of the best shows ever...i might post the full setlist (save one or two songs i didn't recognize...one might've been new new...) in artpunk later when i get around to it...for the encore they fucking played "My Father My King"!!! THAT was fucking great...and at the end of it Stewart detuned all the strings on his guitar and feeding back this enormous bass...they laid the guitars on the amps and walked off stage...one guitarist strapped his around the amp and let it hang...they didn't do "Like Herod" but they did "Ex-Cowboy," "Cody," and "Mogwai Fear Satan"...so i can't complain...(definately not considering the encore...possibly my favorite song of theirs...i hadn't had time to let it seep in before since it is their most recent release...) also, the drummer was wearing one of those shirts they made and were selling, his said "FUCK JESUS DRINK MOGWAI" and on "Mogwai Fear Satan" (which was the last non-encore song...sweet...) the big guy (i forget his name) was trying to play the flute but it couldn't be heard...after trying to signal to the sound guys he got pissed off and turned away...while he was turning around i could see him mouth what i'm almost positive was "morons"...cool...

as we were leaving we stopped by the merch table again to pick up Parlour's cd, Octopus Off-Broadway...there i also noticed that there was this limited tour split 10" w/ Bardo Pond i didn't previously see...i got that...i also decided to get a poster...she said they were all out...unless i wanted the display one hanging up...i said yes and got it free...it's pretty cool 'cuz it says "cheap! posters are $5! $3" on the bottom, which i think is pretty darned cool...afterwards Justin wanted to go to a bar or something...i was against it as i was damned tired but went along for the purpose of getting food while out...we went to this pub place...we ordered some pizza...it was quite very good...the environment, however, was fucking obnoxious...even Justin agreed that the frat types were even louder and more annoying than they would be in Memphis...back to the hotel for some much needed sleep...then went to hit the record stores before taking off back home...i'll start a new post for that...

record shoppin'...

we first went to go to this place called Ground Zero...they were closed though...it was really small anyway...though it did seem reasonably cool...but we soon were at Ear X-Tacy...after 2 hrs:
Superchunk: Tossing Seeds (Singles 89-91)
Echoboy: Volume One
Can: Delay 1968
Rapeman: Two Nuns and a Pack Mule
The Normal: Warm Leatherette/T.V.O.D.
Susie Ibarra Trio: Songbird Suite
Sentridoh: Loobiecore
Scratch Acid: The Greatest Gift
Herbie Hancock: Sextant
Amon Tobin: Permutation
(also, i had gotten Jacques some cds, but his list was done confusingly in one part so i ended up getting him something he already had...it was FAR more than i'd pay for it willingly, but i guess i'll hang on to it: The Durutti Column: LC...i haven't listened to it fully but i gave it a brief gander...some of it's a bit cheesy but i guess it's not all bad...) on the way back Justin was set on stopping at Bucksnort so he could buy a stupid shirt...in the bathroom of the gas station we stopped at, there was something saying something about being a "penis stretcher" in the vending machine...i had to see what that would be so i forked up the two quarters and out comes a mini-condom...it was a bit amusing...i used it on Brad when we got back in town...i went over to Jacques' when we got back and we watched the Misfits bootleg video he rented from Black Lodge...the quality, as they said, was super-shitty...worse than i would have imagined...it was mostly a few live shows...(which are always pretty funny...) and the "Braineaters" video (which was on the tape twice for some reaosn...) it also happened to be exactly as we imagined it would...i made a bunch of money working the next night and i attacked Turtle's' used bin afterwards...(briefly...i actually went to get my first acquisation, as Jacques had informed me of it...and stumbled upon the other two as i browsed one side of the new arrivals bin w/ lightning speed...):
Galaxie 500: 1987 * 1991 box set
Dead Kennedys: Plastic Surgery Disasters & In God We Trust, Inc.
Bad Brains: s/t

Insanity Too

the gang waited up for me 'cuz i got called back to work last night (after the Turtle's venture) and afterwards we went to Graceland Too...it was my third time (unless you count the two times i went and he didn't answer the door...the first, we later found out, he had been watching the back door w/ firearm in hand...ready to blow away some imagined would-be robbers...) so i'm now a lifetime member...next time i go i get the card and picture he took...phattt action! this time he (errr...he being Paul McLeod, the guy who turned his house into a shrine to Elvis...) rambled even more incoherently than usual...it was just an endless stream of things that we couldn't find any relevance in and it was all about money...he even showed us some pictures of some money someone gave him(!?!?!?) there's just too much comedy involved to go into all of it here...we were unable to stop laughing the whole drive back...w/ our new stream of Paul McLeod jokes...

i think it was the lack of sleep before the trip that caused it, but i've started to get sick...a cold...i guess came into full bloom this morning...i got some claratin and some anti-histamine stuff...i was alright today, but a little on the woozy side...work was kind've funny, i was there a little over an hour: the first hour i made like $25 (damned good...it wasn't super-busy, slow actually but the calls came perfectly steady...and all but one of those tips were good...) and the second hour i made: $1...it just fucking died and i waited an hour for that one dollar tip...bitch...after that i went to Brad's...there was some memorial day bash...it was cool though 'cuz Keith was there...along w/ the ex and the kids...his kids rule though...mostly just sat around and played Aggravation...they had cooked some food but even though i hadn't eaten all day i only had like three ribs...the sickness making me not hungry...after it died down i went over to Justin's and watched the end of Full Metal Jacket...(one of the best movies ever...) i guess that's all i have to say now...woo...hoo...

stuff...

i got asked to work today 'cuz Vanessa (the new, extremely cute driver) quit and there was no one to come in at 5...i went...on the way i got the Moog cable and took it back to the repair shop...i was at work for a little less than 2 hrs...on one run, the ppl i was delivering to were in the back but as i pulled up the ppl in the front of the house let their dog out...it was this HUGE st. bernard...they just let it out by itself, i guess 'cuz it was raining and they didn't want to get wet themselves...as i was coming back to my car, the dog was walking down the sidewalk prob'ly just took a dump and was hangin' out...i went over and pet it and it started panting really loud...one of the coolest dogs ever, it was...the past couple of days the river's been really really high...i was making a delivery to harbor town a few days ago and the water was almost up to the walking path in that little park...all the trees were poking up out of the water...and after the flash flood warning rains today, it's still all super-high...Memphis is gonna flood tomorrow...rockin'...