ateolf | Shellacs

cat piss
thursday night Bill pissed on my bed...which pissed me off (creative wordplay, eh?) then some more crap happened but that's just crap...so...

up to Shellac the first
before work on friday i went to the post office to pick up my package, it was my new Game Boy Advance SP (Classic NES Limited Edition, it looks like an original NES control pad...which was a prime motivation in getting an SP...at least the straw that drank from the camel's back...) so yeah, then after work i went to Jacques/Amber's and we went to see Shellac in Oxford...we got there a little early and when we got in town we stopped to ask directions (because OXFORD HAS NO STREET SIGNS) though the gas station we stopped at was like 2 blocks from the venue...Amber went in and was talking to this guy...he came out to the car to talk to the driver (Jacques) 'cuz she didn't know the name of the club...it was funny 'cuz while giving the directions he used the word "damn" like 20 times...and he only said 18 words so he's a pretty talented speaker...anyway when we were about the first people at Proud Larry's for the actual show itself (it's like a restaurant/bar so people were doing things they'd be doing in a restaurant/bar had Shellac not been playing or they knew who they were or whatever...) but while we were waiting for the rock to start, Bob Weston went around with this voter registration and registered Jacques to vote...so i guess his waiting so long to register to vote paid off as now he has a hip story and can be like "i remember that time Bob Weston registered me to vote"...it's not much of a story but it does sound hip...

Shellac 1
Pinebender opened...i had seen them like 3 years before at the Noise Pop festival in Chicago David and i went to back in 2001 (you know, 3 years ago)...i had thought they were quite good then but i think the night of that show i only had enough cash for a Yo La Tengo shirt and since then i guess i haven't run across any of their stuff so they've kind've remained buried in the back of my mind until i saw they were opening for Shellac...so yeah, they were really good again...however, once they started playing i REALLY REALLY REALLY regretted having forgotten my earplugs...they were probably even louder than Shellac (though Shellac were mighty loud themselves)...and i guess this brings me up to Shellac's performance...it was extremely great...though i must say Todd Trainer is one of the creepiest looking dudes i've ever seen in my life...great drummer, just creepy lookin'...we were right up in front of the stage too and i was close enough to almost be kissing Steve Albini...it was amazing, while they were setting up Jacques and i were making fun of Steve Albini and like he was 5 feet away, fuckin' awesome...the crowd that did show up was pretty annoying...there was this one nerd (less fat Comic Book Guy type of nerd) who kept saying really stupid things...during Bob's question/answer session he even asked when they'd change their name to "Battlestar Shellactica" it was funny 'cuz Bob just didn't even acknowledge him...there seemed to be a lot of hippy types but there was also this group of annoying asshole that kept shouting something about satan...i dunno...great show though...i got me a Shellac shirt and i found the dude from Pinebender and got the cd they had for sale:
Pinebender: The High Price of Living Too Long with a Single Dream
as well a t-shirt of theirs too...it contained advice i wish i had followed...it had instructions for wearing ear plugs in 3 steps with pictures for each..."roll," "insert"," "hold" and then translations of each word in four other languages...it's one of the coolest band shirts i've ever seen so i'm happy to have one...the drive back was a lot of fun...actually the drive there was a lot of fun too...just the three of us (Jacques, Amber, and me) chattin' and jokin' and stuff...though the drive back was even funnier 'cuz we were tired...i came up with one of the best jokes ever...and am surprised it wasn't though of sooner...it's that good...almost a year ago we went to Graceland Too and ate at Huddle House afterwards and most people got really sick (though not me) and since we drove past it going to/from Oxford the incident was discussed and i coined the term "Huddle Puddle"...the comedic possibilities are endless...

interim
back in town we ate at the Pancake Shop...we were going to sit in the back sections but the restroom stench had wafted out of the restrooms and it would have been impossible to eat back there without vomiting so we didn't and went back up to the front...i don't know, i guess i just find a restaurant that stinks of piss and shit somewhat noteworthy...then i got home and found more packages waiting for me!!! a dvd:
Sonic Youth: Corporate Ghost
and my new pedal: a Proco You Dirty Rat...the name's silly, but i'd been seeking a second fuzz pedal so i guess after Big Muff my next choice was the Rat...and i saw this as their new version of the Rat that came out this year and as it has "dirty" in the title i figured it was just what i was looking for...i tested it out a little that night, but as it was like 4 in the morning i couldn't get too loud...but i woke up early the next day which was lame, but i got a chance to crank it up...it's pretty cool, though it still doesn't sound as "dirty" as my Big Muff (still to this day the best fucking distortion pedal i've ever heard...not counting the broken one The Jesus and Mary Chain used, 'cuz that was just an accident...a wonderful wonderful wonderful accident...) but anyway, after trying a few things out i FINALLY got a pretty good approximation of the Psychocandy sound!!! something i'd been searching for for years...i hooked up my two fuzz pedals and put the wah pedal between 'em and pushed the treble up all the way...the results were majestic...it's actually an idea i had years ago, when i first got my wah pedal to accompany the Big Muff...not so much in terms of sounding like Psychocandy, i just thought multiple fuzz peals interjected with multiple wah pedals would do really cool stuff with harmonics and shit, and they do...

on the road
so yeah, eventually Amanda came over on saturday and Jacques and Amber came over and we were off!!! i brought along my new Game Boy and uh played it some...the drive to Nashville's like twice as long as the one to Oxford but it was another incredibly fun trip...when we got there we happened to find this store that Jacques and i happened about on a trip to Nashville several years ago...it's not a real music store in a sense, but it has a huge selection of used cds (but only used, nothing new...) they also have other used media...i think it might be billed primarly as a comic book store but i don't care about comic books...it was pretty near where the club was and as we were on the way it all looked familiar to me and i suggested we drive around a street over or so 'cuz that was the only record store we had found on our last trip and then we happened upon it again so that was nice...and fuck, i got a TON of used cds:
Glenn Branca: Symphony Nos. 8 & 10 (The Mysteries)
Silkworm: Lifestyle
Enon: Believo!
The For Carnation: s/t
A Minor Forest: So, Were They in Some Sort of Fight?
Godflesh: Selfless/Merciless
Godflesh: Love and Hate in Dub
Brainiac: Electro-Shock for President
Bardo Pond: Bufo Alvarius, Amen 29:15
Bardo Pond: Big Laughing Jym
AC/DC: Highway to Hell
Piano Magic: Popular Mechanics
i also got a couple used dvds:
Riki-Oh: the Story of Ricky
Videodrome
and one used book that was a goddamned dollar:
Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations by Al Franken
then we went back to the club...it was about an hour before the show had to start and some of us (me especially, jesus) had to use the restroom...the venue wouldn't let us in (they were kind of jerks too) so we walked down to a Krispy Kreme to relieve ourselves...we took a short break had some free doughnuts and something to drink then went back...we weren't gone but 20 minutes, when we first arrived NOBODY was there, then we get back and there was already a sizeable line...oh well...when we finally got inside though most people went to this area with tables off to the side and not in front of the stage, so we at least managed to be in the second row of the audience...and speaking of audience this crowd at this show was far more obnoxious...when Shellac finally came on everyone crowded the fuck towards the stage...and while the Oxford show was pretty sparse, this one was packed...there was this on guy who tried to get past me and Jacques to the front and we wouldn't let him and he was a dick...then later on, this was while Shellac was playing, there was some sort of confrontation though i was on the other side of them so i don't know quite what happened...but he did something obnoxious and Amber throwed some water in his face...then there was some arguement between him and Jacques and Amber but i didn't catch most of it 'cuz i wasn't quite near it and just rockin' and stuff...but then when Bob did his q and a session he asked Bob why those people (pointing at Jacques/Amber) throw water in his face and then Amber made me proud by saying "because he's a cocksucker" and it was really spot-on and funny and Bob said "oh, because you're a cocksucker"...i guess it's hard to describe comic timing in text, but this was perfect and quite a comical exchange...the guy kind of raised his arms in the air in mock victor and Steve said something like "don't raise your arms up like that...you shouldn't be proud of being a cocksucker"...it was pretty funny...anyway, i followed the advice i received on my shirt and remembered my ear plugs...i'd have to say Pinebender was better the first night (though still good in Nashville, though their set seemed a bit shorter...i guess partly why the first night was better...) though Shellac's better night was the second one (even though the crowd was worse and we weren't quite up front...their performance was fucking fantastic...) and i wasn't going to look at any of the mech stuff after this show, but we happened by the table where Pinebender was selling stuff and i noticed they had another cd of theirs that they didn't have the night before so i made a stop and got:
Pinebender: Things Are about to Get Weird
uh...yeah...a big cd trip for me!

on the road again
the drive back was the least eventful...i slept for maybe the last half of it...we did eat at a Jack in the Box and it was swell and i wish they had those in Memphis...hm...i guess i don't have much else to say about that...

father's laundry day
went to my parents' today...did laundry...it sucked ass...i was doing laundry for over 5 fucking hours...i had to wash my sheets/blanket multiple times and they still smelled like cat piss...(see the first chapter of this marvelous tale for more details on that...) it was mostly the blanket, it's comfy thickness absorbed the stench...i did one special wash cycle that lasted 60 minutes when it still smelled i did an even more special wash cycle that lasted 80 minutes...finally it was so late and i had been doing laundry so long i left it with my mom who put it in the wash with borax and shit...hopefully it finally gets clean...and if Bill ever pisses on my bed again i'll have to rip his balls off...oh wait...

Hanover
Justin arrived back in town today...i hung out with him briefly on my way home from my parents'...he's in town for a week...i guess i'll be hanging out with him again later...okay, i'm finished...it's bedtime and i need to remake my bed and make my lunch...bollocks...