Cover your balls ’cause we swing kung-fu

October 27, 2004March 22, 2022 Jason Preu1 Comment

I was away all day. Thus no posting.
Now I’m here. Thus posting.
I’ve a smidgen of time to tell you about the show last night before hitting tonight’s rock fest, so please bear with me.
We’ll mainly skip the trip to Columbia.
It rained most of the way there.

The Blue Note is a nice venue.

Beep Beep came on first.

They were OK. The audience didn’t care much for them.

But the audience did care for TV on the Radio.

TVOTR sounds so incredibly different live from their studio work.

More funky, more jazzy, and more connected with their listeners (something they’ve been criticized for).

We wondered how they were going to sound live, what tricks they’d use to conjure their studio sound.

No tricks. Just music from the heart.

The Faint.
The Faint rocked so hard live.
They tore The Blue Note down.

Really.

No, they blew it up.

No, they turned it inside out.

Their singer looks like Scott Weiland from STP and appears to be aging just as well.

Their guitar player is a dancing fool.

The whole damned band is tight, tight, tight and their songs came off without a hitch.

They covered Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’.

They encored with ‘Agenda Suicide’.

We felt the 4-hour round trip drive was worth it.

Sa Rah had to drive through pea-soup fog all the way home.

She was not happy.

And in about a half-hour, we do it all again.

Comments

Saw The Faint/Beep Beep last night at Liberty Hall (Wed. 27th), and from your last statement, I’m guessing you were there too. My friend and I stood outside amongst smokers (a non-smoker, that’s me) while Beep Beep played. When Beep Beep were done, we went back in to see who we came for. The Faint kicked ass, and I was mesmerized and highly entertained by the “dancin’ fool” guitarist. 😀

During the show, I stood on the steps leading to the floor in front of the sound board… shakin’ my booty.

I looked for you, but didn’t see either of you amongst the throng.

~{S.

Posted by: Sunshine at October 28, 2004 11:13 AM

Sorry we missed you, Sunshine!
We were right up front – check today’s blog entry for some photos.

The Faint rule. That’s all I can say. Damn.

Posted by: jdoublep at October 28, 2004 12:18 PM

well hell. I should’ve went to Columbia. I missed the show last night in Lawrence. Did you hear how it was? Glad you had a great time. Pea soup is for slurping.

P.S. I love your blog & have it bookmarkied!

Posted by: Tara at October 28, 2004 01:09 PM

Thanks, Tara!!!
(Did you read that BB!ers? Bookmarked even… 🙂 )

We did hit the show last night and later this PM I’ll post about it. Suffice to say, last night’s gig was just as tight.

Also – Sa Rah got cold busted at work for using e-mail and internet, so she’s gonna be intermittent on the COL boards. 😦

Posted by: jdoublep at October 28, 2004 01:16 PM

I forgot to comment on the photos. Those are some great shots you got! It’s cool you do that. I don’t really have a consistantly working camera these days.

Thanks for the response. 🙂

~{S.

Posted by: Sunshine at October 28, 2004 03:12 PM

thanks, sunshine.

i sure wish i could in with some local production companies to shoot photos for them. hell, i’d work just to get into shows.

SO – BB! readers – if you know anyone looking for band photographers, point them to this site and tell them that I’d love the opportunity to do promotional (or any type of) shoots for them.

ps – sunshine, get your bloody camera fixed! you’re a photographer for the love of god! (even if you’re burnt out ;P)

Posted by: jdoublep at October 28, 2004 03:36 PM

Halloween Party and Not Much Else

October 24, 2004March 22, 2022 Jason Preu1 Comment

First – big thanks to Eco and Chrissy for taking us out to The Melting Pot and Rocky Horror. The meal was top notch

melt

and the show had us singing out loud. We even got to Time Warp with the cast at the end!

look for the pumas

We didn’t get home until 3AM Saturday morn.
Sarah had to shop all day yesterday for wedding stuff.
I had to shop all day yesterday for Halloween stuff.
For you see, Saturday night was our annual Halloween party, hosted by Foo-Foo and Midnite Monkey. The party is awesome every year, and my friends and I have a tradition of winning “Best Group Costume”.

In 2001,

RAWK!

as Poynt’d Styk, KC’s premier Cock Rock band;

in 2002,

as “The Other Holidays” and;

in 2003,

goo and geisha

as a wad of a sperm. (Unfortunately, all our group photos from 2003 have vanished into the aether but that’s a photo of jizzy me and Sa Rah in an amazing homemade geisha costume.)

Needless to say, we were determined to win again in 2004.
Apparently, this year, another group was scheming to dethrone us.

My mission yesterday morning and afternoon was to run all over the city getting things for Sa Rah’s and my part of our group costume.
I ran to two separate Goodwills looking for a black sport/tuxedo coat. No luck. (I’m purposefully not telling what our costume was. I don’t want you to click away just yet.)
So, I headed over to U.S. Toy.

I could have spent hours playing in there, but I didn’t have that long. I found what I’d come for, a bowtie for me and a cigarette holder for Sa Rah,

and I split to Metcalf South Mall where I hoped I’d find a cheap sport coat.

Metcalf South is a dead zone. Empty mall slot after empty mall slot, my footsteps echoed in the quiet space.

I want to go back there with my real camera to shoot some photos. Spooky, good for Halloween, but no cheap sport coats.

Sa Rah came home and the dress-up was on. She threw together some things and really brought her character to life. We were running late, but no matter – the game was about to begin. Halloween.

ghost in the blog

Everyone was to meet at Eco’s.
Who was everyone?

Miss Scarlett:

Colonel Mustard:

Mrs. White:

Mr. Green and Mrs. Peacock:

Professor Plum and Yvette, the maid (and murder victim):

And, Wadsworth, the butler:

That’s right, we were Clue and we planned to play the game live at the party.

(Front of Detective Sheet)

(Rear of Detective Sheet – sex toy weapon descriptions)

Everyone gets into this party. That’s why we love it. Creativity abounds.

From the more obvious costumes

mammogram machine

to slightly more obscure:

(Dung Beetle)

(Dept. of Homeland Security)

The hosts go all out when decorating.

And give out fun prizes too.

(That’s a toilet seat given each year to “Shittiest Costume”.)

This year, the Dung Beetles won “Best Couple”.

They were so happy they did a dung dance.

Their prize was a William Hung CD and some latchwork art.

People love this event. The party is always well-attended.

Friends of friends show up.

And some folks like to issue challenges.
Our “competition” this year – a dodgeball team…

I give them credit for trying…
but when you dress up like Clue characters, stage a fake murder in the middle of the party by killing all the lights, having Yvette give a hair-tingling scream, bring back the lights to have the rest of the party see all the Clue peeps standing around Yvette’s bloodied body, then invite them to play a game of Clue to try to figure out whodunnit…a fuckin’ dodgeball team costume just don’t cut it, especially if you don’t even play a game of dodgeball at the party.

So yeah, our group again won “Best Group”.
Four years in a row.

I think we deserved it.

(And in case you’re wondering…it was Mrs. Peacock, in the Dining Room, with the Crystal Pussy.)

Comments

Wow!Â

…but why did the party take place the week before Halloween?

Posted by: George at October 24, 2004 07:39 PM

they host the party the week before so as not to disrupt the plans of people with children. they tend to get a better turnout that way.

Posted by: jdoublep at October 25, 2004 08:29 AM

Aha! Makes sense.

Posted by: George at October 25, 2004 12:28 PM

Awesome, man. ROFLMAO. You slay me.

Posted by: Steve at October 25, 2004 04:24 PM

mad props! You guys are so fun. What are you guys doing on Saturday? Any fun Halloween outings planned?

Posted by: Tara at October 28, 2004 01:15 PM

Well, we’re going to a wedding, and we’ve been invited to parties at Toby’s and Chronic’s, so we’ll probably try to hit one, if not both of those.
What about youses?

Posted by: jdoublep at October 28, 2004 02:26 PM

Attention KC Area Bloggers

October 14, 2004March 22, 2022 Jason PreuLeave a comment

If you didn’t know, there’s a little thing in town called KC Bloggers that collects and lists various KC blogs. I’ve found some great local blogs through KC Bloggers.

To the point – Steve, over at Heresies and Blasphemies, is opening a dialogue about how best to form and coordinate a roving unit of KC bloggers who collectively read and comment on KC blogs. So, if this interests you in any way, join in on the discussion.

Me typing this post:

What up, yo?

Comments

Yo!

Didn’t even realize that was you, jdoublep – Badda Blog!, I mean. Nice blog. That’s what I get for not reading bylines, eh?

I thought it might be a cool way to get some visibility into the KC Blogsphere (yes, toby, I used the word “blogsphere”) and maybe suss out the blogs that are cool, and the ones that aren’t, and maybe argue about the difference a little. 😀

Posted by: Steve at October 14, 2004 01:50 PM

Thanks for the kind words about the site, Steve!

As for the commenting collective – itt’s definitely a cool idea and I like the project for several reasons:

1) We get to focus on just one blog and just one entry per day, which lends itself over time to tracking the blogs that get more of our attention (and why).

2) We help other KC blogs get traffic and leave some worthwhile commentary. As you said in the comments on H&B, the idea isn’t just to spam a particular blog. I see it as a project to cultivate, if you will, good karma as bloggers.

3) Finally, we get to find and read new and interesting things and tell other people about them.

Now that’s good stuff.

Posted by: jdoublep at October 14, 2004 02:41 PM

Best case scenario would be one in which bloggers were happy to have the Roving Blog Riot Club visit their site… 😀

Maybe we should make an award icon… Like “RBRC was here” or something… LOL

Posted by: Steve at October 14, 2004 04:26 PM

It sound really interesting, but I think it could be slightly scary to those of us who are relatively timid about blogging. Perhaps I’m just talking about myself. ;D (which is generally the purpose of ablog, right?)

*waves to jdoublep*

~{Sunshine

Posted by: Sunshine at October 15, 2004 11:20 AM

SUN SHINE!

Producer of my fave KC radio program, WHAT UP?!

Everyone, check out Sunshine’s blog to see what rocking tunes you’re missing, and listen to her show on 90.1 – 10PM Saturday nights.

As for timidity in blogging – hell, you get to do with it what you will. Timid or full frontal blogging, it’s all good.

Posted by: jdoublep at October 15, 2004 01:09 PM

B-day shout

October 14, 2004March 22, 2022 Jason PreuLeave a comment

     On this day
in 
        1
        8

                9
                4
,ee cummings was born
.
A poet,
       painter,

               and essay
         ist,
His vis
u
               ally
        distinctive p	
                        oems

for       ever

e x p a n d e d

the ART.

EE Cummings – O sweet spontaneous

O sweet spontaneous
earth how often have
the
doting
      fingers of
prurient philosophers pinched
and
poked
thee
,has the naughty thumb
of science prodded
thy
      beauty .how
often have religions taken
thee upon their scraggy  knees
squeezing and
buffeting thee that thou mightest conceive
gods
      (but
true
to the incomparable
couch of death thy
rhythmic
lover
      thou answerest
them only with
            spring)

STL – 2nd Presidential Debate

October 11, 2004March 22, 2022 Jason Preu1 Comment

The drive down to St. Louis went schmoove.

dipstickin'

And the skies cleared to make way for presidential racing.

beauty in industry

The STL was ready.

Night was nigh upon us.

We made our way to America’s Center for the debate-watching party.
Sa Rah bought a Ketchup Lovers for Kerry Button.

And she wondered what a winner tastes like. (Hi, Bean!!! We made it home safe and sound.)
like chicken

For some reason, I hadn’t expected so many folks. These are the lines to get in.

Security was secure.

(They actually warned me that my camera would be confiscated if I continued snapping photos of the guards.)

A lot of folks came out to watch the debates, cheer, hiss, boo, and rally.

There were Vets for Kerry, Gays for Kerry, and even Women for Kerry.
furry women

Sa Rah turned to me at one point to say, “Oh what shall we do if the loony wins again?”
boohoo

Then she saw this hopeful couple
springs eternal
and smiled.

I remained stoic.

No, I didn’t.

I soon grew tired of banner-waving and decided to make my support fashionable.

Never much one for fashion, I try to make my support sexual.

That, too, fails, so I just go for the old, “I’m a crazy mofo and I get to vote” look.

Kerry showed up to rally after the debate.

I’d never been to a political rally this close to election day. The vibe was volatile.

Kerry seemed strong and I marveled at the stamina both he and Bush must have to keep up this schedule (even moreso the President – he’s got to preside during the entire mess).

Afterwards, the evening seemed a little different. Kerry’s a politician. Of that we were sure. But, however illusory, it felt incredible to be involved in the process for a brief amount of time.
gateway
Oh, and STL, thanks for asking such damned good questions.

Away for the Weekend

October 8, 2004March 22, 2022 Jason PreuLeave a comment

Once again, we’re going out of town for the weekend so I’m taking the afternoon off and leaving you with a list of things to occupy your time. We’re heading down to STL to visit my good friend, Bean, watch the debates (not live, but the vibe in STL should be nice), go to the wineries, and generally enjoy some October-like goodness. Without further ado, I present you with…

Interesting Tidbits From Around the ‘Net That You Should Use Sparingly So They Last All Weekend

(but I know you won’t spread the joy out – you’ll eat everything up at once…)

1 – Local blogger Randy Rathburn links up to a video of Cheney checking out Edwards’ bootylicious daughter.

2 – Guess who’s coming to KC? That’s right, Elaine Pagels, Grade A Theological Scholar. This should be one interesting discussion. I haven’t read the new book, but I hope it’s out in paperback so I can. I’m too cheap to pay $25 for a hardcover.

3 – Fraction posts some real slick spots he helped make for the Gravity Games.

4 – There’s some crazy damned story on NPR right now about Bush shutting down dissenters at his rallies. I’m sure you can google it later. Never mind. I found it for you.

5 – If’n you ain’t heard, there’s some kinda “gate” a’brewin’. (You may have to grab a free pass from Salon, but it’s an interesting article – though BS it may be.)

6 – Last night was so nice and relaxing. We ate some homemade bruschetta and lounged hard. Sa Rah wanted to watch a scary movie so we dug through our film collection and I busted out with Audition. Not that scary, but groooooooooooss. We really didn’t have too many scary movies. Ginger Snaps, Nadja…if those can even be classified as scary. I think The Fog of War is scarier than both of those flicks. We did have Ringu, but decided to save that one.

7 – I am so glad Skip got some props.

Well, I should probably devote myself now to my job. Have a good weekend, kids. See you in a few days.

Blood & Pumpkins

October 5, 2004 Jason PreuLeave a comment

This afternoon I’ll be out at a park with my department on a picnic. (How’s that for a prepositional string?) Backyard Burgers is catering so I’ll get to munch some crispy, salty waffle fries. We’re also supposed to carve pumpkins or some shit. I’m not much for carving pumpkins or anything else. I’m not very skilled when it comes to rendering things with my hands. I can’t paint, draw, sculpt, or carve. I can slice and dice a tomato but if you ask me to get fancy with it what you’d get in return would be akin to tomato paste. So what’s that mean for you, dear BB! reader? Well, thankfully I’ll have my handy, dandy futurephone along for the ride and will be updating my flog (which is apparently down at the moment…) throughout the afternoon. So scroll down and to the left – where you’ll see a bunch of yellowish-orange, stringy innards and bloody fingers – that’ll be me trying to carve a pumpkin.

In other news,

Rusty’s got an interesting post about arguing politics wit’cho momma.

Sorry for misunderstanding, you creepy bastard. You should’ve just stuck to your original story.
Readers, prepare to sign some pink slips.

It ain’t easy being orange.

Comments

I just wish the fiscal conservatives would take the Republican Party back from the neocons so I’d have a choice other than to vote for Democrats, whom I’m not terribly happy with either.

Posted by: Rusty at October 5, 2004 09:34 AM

Blood & Pumpkins

October 5, 2004 Jason PreuLeave a comment

In other news,

Rusty’s got an interesting post about arguing politics wit’cho momma.

Sorry for misunderstanding, you creepy bastard. You should’ve just stuck to your original story.
Readers, prepare to sign some pink slips.

It ain’t easy being orange.

Posted by: Rusty at October 5, 2004 09:34 AM

A letter to the Pixies

October 2, 2004March 22, 2022 Jason PreuLeave a comment

Dear Pixies,
I didn’t think you’d sound quite so incredible last night so I thought I’d write you a letter and tell you just how good you made me feel. I don’t know why I didn’t expect such a phenomenal show. I mean, I’d read all the reviews that said just how tight your recent shows were. Maybe it’s just cause I’d never seen you play before…maybe it’s just cause I forgot how much I loved your songs…maybe it’s just that Sa Rah and I were so tired from staying out till 1 the night before that your entire set seemed like a dream…I don’t know, but damn, did you ever sound incredible.
Thank you, Joey, for thrashing the guitar solo on ‘Vamos’. I’d forgotten how I always wanted to know what you did to get that sound.

Thank you, Frank, for somehow still being able to manage wailing like a punk-rocker on ‘Tame’ yet hit the high notes of ‘Caribou’ without once slipping.
Thank you, Kim, for providing the haunting backing vocals on ‘Where is My Mind?’ and for looking so damned happy to be playing.
Thank you, David, for really letting me see how integral your work is to the band, for tearing up ‘UMass’, and for not dropping the drumstick that Joey thew to you.
Thank you, Pixies, for staying on-stage after your set and accepting the standing ovation that the entire theater gave to you because your band really is that essential to the rock and roll canon. Thank you for playing the first song of yours that I ever heard, ‘Wave of Mutilation’ (the version from Pump Up the Volume), and thanks for playing ‘Hey’, my favorite of all your songs. I honestly didn’t expect either one. And hearing ‘Hey’ live almost made me cry (it’s a sad song, you know?).
Pixies, you were one of the first bands (actual bands) I ever fell in love with. Dodo turned me on to you when I was 18. Funny enough, I actually turned Dodo on to some of your albums that he hadn’t heard. Dodo missed your show last night and that makes me kinda sad. When you’ve loved a band since you were 14 or 15 (like Dodo has), and you’ve never seen them live before…well, you get the picture. I hope you come back through so Dodo can go.

Pixies, Sa Rah wanted me to ask you, why is your band one of the few real rockin’ bands that crunchies (you know, neo-hippies) really seem to get into? Your sound is pretty much post-punk (thrashin’ guitars, wailing vocals, and short in length) and although your tunes are melodic, riff-a-licious, and, I think, very psychedelic, they don’t really seem like typical fare for the jam-band crowd. I told her I just thought that your music is too good for anyone to really pass up, even crunchies. I know when I first got into you was right before I entered my Phish phase and my love for your music has outlasted any of the love I had for crunchy bands.
Anyway, I’m sorry I’ve taken up so much of your time, Pixies. I know your schedule is packed and you’re all pushing 40 and tired. Probably nothing I do will ever suffice to let you know how much your music has meant to me over the years. So I can only say “thanks.”
Your fan,
jdoublep
ps. Please tell The Thrills that we enjoyed their set as well. They’re not quite so standard live as on CD.

Comments

wow- i bet that show was straight up ROCK!

Posted by: kari.blueberry at October 3, 2004 11:21 AM

GD it. Why the flug didn’t I go to this show? I guess I’ll make up for it by listening to Doolittle all day long on repeat.

I’m such an ass.

Posted by: toby at October 4, 2004 10:28 AM

Jason Preu

Devious Bloggery

Menu

Month: October 2004

Cover your balls ’cause we swing kung-fu

Halloween Party and Not Much Else

Attention KC Area Bloggers

B-day shout

STL – 2nd Presidential Debate

Away for the Weekend

Blood & Pumpkins

Blood & Pumpkins

A letter to the Pixies