brunettepet

Sorry I've dropped off the face of the earth. This move to Missouri is taking for-freaking-ever! The closing on this house was pushed back two weeks but did we use that time to sensibly pack the house and have a garage sale and load another pod? Of course not! We procrastinated like the procrastinators we are and still have a shit ton to pack and sell and also have tickets to see Brian Wilson playing "Pet Sounds" out of state so more procrastination is on order.

We sold this house as a tear down so the new owners need to pull permits for demolition, giving us weeks to get everything done, so there's no real sense of urgency other than the house seeming to know the end is nigh. A ceiling fan and the garbage disposal both gave up the ghost over the past few days and there is packing material and packed boxes everywhere. We moved the dining and kitchen tables on the first push so we're eating over the sink which is about as fun as it sounds.

In case you're wondering, the mister has STILL not finished packing up the CDs and albums but for some reason I'm finding it funny rather than maddening. I'm thinking it's the hysteria talking. It could also be all the alcohol we need to get through before the move :D

Oh, well. Things will not pack or sell themselves, so I need to get back to work. I swear I'll see y'all on the other side.

*More ridiculousness: The IPhone died during an OS update and the mister has been on the phone with Applecare over three hours because we were promised a replacement and they didn't make a note of that on the case file so it didn't happen on our first visit. We have another appointment today and because the phone is mine I need to go with him (he's my anxiety ridden mouthpiece) to actually talk to an associate and hopefully get the new phone. This is sure to be another several hours we'll never get back. *sigh* It's emotionally exhausting.

I'll be off the grid, again, for a week plus. Back to the wilds of Missouri for some more grim face time with the mister's family but hopefully some awesome time with the monkeys in my family tree. This time I was promised the mister's siblings were going to be out of town for a music festival (their promises). LIES. The brother and his girlfriend decided to come to my niece's wedding instead which is the real reason we are going up in the first place. Why? They don't know her. They were invited as a courtesy. "Hey, you live close and we're related by marriage and you might be hurt if we had a stealth wedding that your son/brother was officiating and we didn't invite you." Ugh, Why not just send a card? Super coolly they asked for donations to their favorite charities in lieu of presents, so why not that? Presence instead.

Now we have to juggle my family and his family and the thirteen hour drive bookending the fun. We love my niece and her future husband is great and my younger brother is a wonderful cook but it's going to be stressful and I was hoping it would just be us hanging with my family for a change.

Hopefully it will be a great time. I'll give y'all a report when we get back.

I am usually up on things, read the local paper even though it's terrible and rifle through the local weekly entertainment listings like I'm looking for money so how the frilly heck did I miss a free to the public Friday Night Lights 10 year anniversary pep rally that was held at Panther Field (really a local high school) with a cast reunion and a performance of Crucifictorious? I love that show.

The badges to the four day event were upwards of $200 and though there were some panels I'd have been interested in attending they're all sold out now. There was a Rescue Me cast and creators reunion yesterday morning and a West Wing cast and creators reunion this morning. Both are shows I also really love. Wow, why aren't any of my local friends into television?

I'll have to be more alert next year.

Saturday is normally the busiest day of parties, throngs of people and night showcases and this Saturday was no different. We started off with an excellent, rocking set by Manchester, UK's PINS , followed by a tight, danceable pop rock set by Liverpool, UK's Hooton Tennis Club

We took a walk around the corner to a Planned Parenthood fundraiser being held in somebody's postage stamp sized backyard, getting there in time for three songs by super dramatic, kitschy and fun Prom Queen followed by Germany's beat driven electronica trio Aloa Input. Two free local craft beers along with the tunes and then back down the street to see a cool set from Madrid's Lois We weren't expecting a full band so seeing a more rocking than expected four piece was a pleasant surprise.

We had to drive back toward downtown to see a few songs from 60's garage rockers The Sloths It was fun to watch the 60-something lead singer writhing all over the stage and then jumping into the audience to serenade an embarrassed twenty year old with their 1964 underground hit "Makin' Love." Then it was another The Spook School set at the bike shop, this time out in the parking lot to accommodate a fairly large, appreciative crowd. They killed it again so we decided to see their official showcase later that night. On the way to get something to eat, we stopped in at Antone's Records and saw a few rocking songs by locals Eve and the Exiles

After another fun Spook School show, we changed things up from all the pop and rock we'd been seeing and went to a Brazilian singer songwriter Clara Valente leading into Austrian singer/songwriter accordionist Hubert von Goisern He played an eclectic, super loud set of rock, country, cajun and traditional Alpine music. Accordion is not my favorite instrument but it was a pretty tight, entertaining set.

PINS was our favorite new band of the day.

Sunday we ate breakfast and then hit the Panache Hangover Party for a great set by Montreal's lo-fi punky Nancy Pants and an even better set by Brooklyn's punk pop trio BOYTOY

We'd promised a friend we'd check out a Chilean two piece a few miles away, so it was back in the car for a set of fuzzy guitar rockabilly and free tacos with Perrosky They were terrific and the mister bought a couple 45s, an LP and a live CD.

Then is was back to Beerland for a raucous set by Madrid trio
The Parrots followed by the hilarious Danish pop stylings of Dinner He has hysterical, ennui steeped patter between songs. I love him.

The mister thought Perrosky was the best band of the day and though I thought they were great, BOYTOY won the day for me.

We'd planned to stay for a couple more bands but at this point in the festivities we'd seen over thirty acts and were tired of standing on one concrete floor after another so we called a close to another successful SXSW and hit a brewpub in our neighborhood.

Tuesday and Wednesday were long and with the warm weather (in the 90's, WTH?) we were slapping on the sunblock and downing water like crazy. There's a coffeehouse/bar with four stages less than a mile from our house and there were three different record labels showcasing their acts. Shoegazey, metal, singer/songwriter, rap, pop, etc., etc. Ten bands, nothing ground breaking so we took a break to meet up with our brew club. Later we went to see a local act we'd been hearing were great live. They were! Calliope Musicals are an energetic six piece whose show was like a DIY Flaming Lips show with costumes and confetti cannons and mylar pom poms. We were dancing from the first to the last song. It was a super fun way to end the evening.

Yesterday we started with an 80's-ish band from Minneapolis, Night Moves I liked the first few songs but they all started sounding the same and I wanted to see Brothers in Law from Italy so we moved on. Another dozen bands, a handful of CDs and more water and sunblock and we were whipped.

Today it's breakfast tacos, bloody marys and bands leading into an afternoon day party. We already know we love Hinds and The Crookes There's a punk/metal record label showcasing ten bands up the street so we're planning to do a back and forth all day. We'll see how it goes.

I'd forgotten it was one of the friending meme rules to pimp it. The original post is here: http://teragramm.livejournal.com/240375.html

Here are the rules:

RULE 1. If you answer this post you must friend everyone else who answers this post and they should friend you back. (I will post a complete list in a week or two, just so you don't miss anyone.)

RULE 2. Being/having been, a part of the Buffy/Angel fandom is suggested but not a deal breaker. (I have some awesome friends who have never been part of fandom.)

RULE 3. After you have "met" your new friends (and given them a fair chance.) If you feel you have nothing in common with them, you are free to unfriend them, with no hard feelings.

RULE 4. You must pimp this post in your LJ (with a link to the post.)

RULE 5. Sometime after you have made new friends, you must post an "all about me" post, as an introduction. In this post give as much or as little info as you are comfortable giving.

Thanks, everyone, for the birthday well wishes! Me and the mister were slated for an obli-cation with his exhausting family in Missouri when I noticed that The little Green Cars from Dublin were doing a short tour before opening for Hozier here in the US. The mister jumped right on cutting the family visit short and booking a three day not-really-a-weekend in a city and state we'd never visited. We had a great time in Milwaukee, WI enjoying fantastic architecture, food, beer and music. The town is awesome. Everywhere we went people gave us suggestions for someplace else we should eat, drink or visit and each suggestion was a winner. People were sincerely into their town and were delighted we were, too.

A couple local beers were real winners and the venue the band was playing was small but the crowd was appreciative and the sound was fantastic. The opening act thanked us for showing up early and liking them enough to see their set and telling them we liked their sound. Umm, is that unusual? The band from Dublin remembered us from their last US tour (2 years ago) and we got hugs for being stalkers that have seen them in three states.

The only bummer was the Milwaukee Museum of Art was closed for renovations but that just means we have to go back! I don't have a problem with that.

Thanks, again, for making a great birthday even better for thinking of me!

I know I have twenty-five thousand words in me, but NOT IN A ROW! Good luck to everyone that does (as well as the artists participating).

AfterCamlann, the Merlin Big Bang is Back for 2015!

Sign ups are now open HERE for Writers, Artists, Betas & Cheerleaders. Come be part of the fun this year!

The mister tripped and broke a bone in his dominant hand so it looks like he'll be joining me at home for an impromptu, not so fun trial run at retirement for a few weeks. That means I'm set for fetching and carrying duty and won't be as fannishly involved as usual. Keep fandom warm for me!

Time to make coffee and off to the orthopedist's office. Joy.

Thank you, everyone, for the birthday wishes and v-gifts. It made a wonderful day even better. The mister and I went to five places we'd never been before and each one was a delight. Barbecue, a long (much needed post barbecue) walk, beer, music and a meet up with friends to sample our friend's delicious new hoppy American brown ale now being brewed at a brewery we'd never visited. There were cupcakes and candles and lots of laughter. It was pretty much a perfect day.