An update - on several themes

Since music is just about my favorite thing on the planet, I would be remiss if I failed to blog about my recent musical adventures.
In the past few weeks, I have attended a few lovely concerts (all at different venues, even).
First was The Fratellis at First Ave. The show was lots of fun, except for the women standing in front of us who danced in a horrible way that suggested little control of their bodies and poor coordination (think Elaine on Seinfeld). Concerts would be so much better sometimes if it weren't for the other fans. Sheesh.

Then it was off to the Weezer show at the Excel. For those of you not from this neck of the woods, it's the same arena that recently hosted the RNC. So it was big. But since I got awesome tickets via iTunes presale, it was phenomenal. I would even venture to say that it was better than the last Weezer show I saw - in the same arena with Kaiser Chiefs and Foo Fighters. We came fashionably late so as to miss some Angels and Something-or-other band and Tokyo Police Club, which we obviously had no interest in seeing. I was grateful that the band played lots of old mixed in with the new, and I saw them play some songs that I had never seen live ("Suzanne," "Pink Triangle," "Across the Sea(?)" etc.). But like the previous show, there were some d-bags sitting near us. Namely, this guy who kept telling me, "Oh, they're going to play [song] next. I saw the set-list before the show." Well, he was never right, and I just rolled my eyes. I guess when you get great seats, putting up with a toolshed is unavoidable.

The third and most recent show was Ray LaMontagne at the State Theater. I won tickets, literally, by being caller 10 on The Current, and I brought my lovely friend Heather. The show was tons of fun, but I preferred the time we spent before the show at The Chambers lounge catching up and drinking the most delicious ginger-spiked margarita. This is one of those places that I dismissed as pretentious until I actually went there. Yes, $6 for a Miller Lite is quite steep, especially if you have ever been to NW Sconie, but the ambiance is worth the bit extra. In my opinion. I will have to go this winter when they have the outdoor Ice Bar open. If you haven't been, I would recommend it as the perfect place to bring a girlfriend when you need to do some serious dishing and pretty-people-watching. And the appetizers were superdelicious.

My next concert endeavor: Jeremy Messersmith at the Turf Club on November 7. If you want to go, too, give me a holler. You say you're unfamiliar with my darling Jeremy? He's only the most talented (aside from my beloved DW) singer-songwriter in MPLS. His recent album "The Silver City" is without a doubt my favorite album of 2008. And it's not just all the awesome Twin Cities references in his music. There is something amazing about his music and the way he sings it. If you didn't know better, you could easily mistake him for Elliot Smith (on Prozac). If you want to see the comparison, listen to Jeremy's "Franklin Avenue" and Elliot's "Pretty (Ugly Before)" or "Twilight." It always astounds me when great artists can marry an aching sadness with undiluted joy. It's like that clear beam of sunlight through an overcast sky. The result is some damn good music.
And trust me; if I were easily swayed by the Twin Cities references, then I would be a Hold Steady fan. And I'm not.

Aside from that, my current frequently played music includes the following:
The new and old Rachael Yamagata albums
Old Replacements albums
The new Kings of Leon (especially the track "Sex on Fire" - so good. Achingly good.)
Ray LaMontagne, since I saw him last
Cary Brothers (seems to be good fall music)
And Jeremy.

In non-music news, I enjoyed spending most of my workday today at the Metrodome watching my students win state in girls soccer. Lots of fun. And for those of you who don't work with teenagers, maybe you think they're hoodlums or scary weirdos in stupid baseball caps with flat brims. For those of us who do work with them, we know that there is nothing more heartwarming than the moments when they are just so cute. It could be the funny "rollercoaster ride" cheer-thing they were doing, or the student of mine who held up a banner that simply said "Awesome," but I am having one of those times professionally that I am finding so much joy in these amazing young people that I work with. Perhaps it is because my student teacher is taking all of the day-to-day "crap" off my hands that I have time to sit back, look at the big picture, and truly appreciate the career that I insanely felt drawn to.

So goodbye for now. Enjoy a warm fall beverage.
And don't forget to vote.

Boo!

Forget haunted houses. Check this out if you want a Halloween scare.

Surprise of a lifetime

I was in my usual 5 a.m. haze on the couch until husband was reading Twitter and said, "Your sister's engaged?" How's that for a wake-up? I sure hope I'll get to meet this young man sometime soon.
This has definitely been an interesting day.