April 19, 2004 - 3:45 p.m.
Well, so, fighting intruders from the insect world isn't all I did this weekend. On Friday we went to Freddy's Backroom and saw American String Conspiracy, the Waylons, and Alex Battles' Whisky Rebellion. Boy did I have a whale of a time. There was lots of singing along even though I had never heard any of the bands before. Either the songs were just predictable or they were standards. I think singing along was encouraged. Um, I hope it was, anyway. It was weird, two of the Waylons look to me just like two of the Essex Green. It's like an alternate reality. But I know that they were not Essex Green because they were playing at the "secret yo la tengo show." A friend was at that show and she said "boy do they look old" and that a lot of the people there were surprised yet uninterested in seeing them.
And then the next day...I went to Stereolab at Irving Plaza. It was really a "concert" in the worst possible sense. First you have to pay big bucks, then you get frisked and have your water bottle thrown away, then your ticket's barcode is scanned, then you have to get a wristband, then stand in a big line to get a $6 beer in a can, because no glassware is allowed. Then stand all huddled together in the back where you can't see anything, and the sound is bad, and the lightshow hurts your little eyes and you think you're going to have a seizure. They played a bunch of hit numbers and I thought about an alternate reality where I was up front and dancing and enjoying myself. But, twas mere fantasy. All the young gay hipster boys were there, in case you were wondering where they were.
Also my heart was not in it because I just wanted to get back to my friend's birthday party, which was big fun.
