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Monday, May 20, 2002
10 days since an update. My longest gap since the Almanac revamp. Why, you ask? Same old story: no time, no motivation, too much going on in my real life to maintain my virtual one.
Played a rock n' roll show, went up to Vermont for a few days, hung out with the folks and some friends, caught a couple movies, saw a solid show at the Middle East, made a quick trip up to New Hampshire, saw a great Sox game, caught some TV season-enders, and didn't sleep enough. I'm wiped, and haven't felt like myself for a few days. I've been neglecting not only the blog, but my mental health and the exercise equipment as well. Someone just passed me in the hallway here at work and said "What's up, big man?". I am never eating again. Star Wars Episode II was a hell of a good time. The last hour had me grinning like a fool. Put your expectations away and walk into the theater unburdened by nostalgia. Seriously, the only way to enjoy it is to separate yourself from your glossed-over cinematic memories of youth. It will never match the Empire Strikes Back, because you are not that kid any more. Well, in some respects at least. As Matt said, the Boston-area premiere of the movie Harvard Man was a let down, for all the reasons he lists. I, too, enjoyed director James Toback's introduction far more than the movie itself. I tried to enjoy it, really I did. Well, at least Amie liked it, so it wasn't a complete waste of a Friday evening. Speakin' of Friday, we caught a couple of very fine bands after the film. +/- (plus/minus) consisted of a couple members of Versus (the drummer, Patrick Ramos, and guitarist James Baluyut, who both handle vocals, guitar, and keys in +/-) alongside a guest bassist from True Love Always and an excellent drummer. Equal parts sampling, blissed-out guitar moments, mellow pop vocals, and Versus-style guitar interweave. Just my kinda thing. I picked up their debut disc on Teenbeat, and was surprised to learn that it was almost entirely written and recorded by James, with a little help from Pat. The live band was thrown together for touring purposes, making the album a distinctly more electronic and moody experience. Which ain't a bad thing.  Before +/- hit the stage, we were treated to the sweet-pop-rock sounds of Trackstar, whose catchy-as-all-get-out songs hit me just right. Not enough to buy the cd (as Mary did), but enough to know I'll be borrowing it from her.  After a quick trip up to New Hampshire to meet up with Amie at Mary's wedding shower on Saturday (which included some super-fun 50's-style Jeopardy), I was treated to my first ever trip to Target. Ok, now I get it. Two floors of rampant wallet-and-credit sucking consumer goods. And an escalator that's exclusively for shopping carts. Now ain't that America. Speaking of America, Sunday was a perfect sunny Spring day, and an afternoon of our nation's pastime was on order. Matt, Mary, Amie, and I took in an excellent Red Sox game, and we were able to put the Seattle Mariners down 3-2, despite Ichiro's best efforts. I love close game. Especially ones we win, of course.   Come on, Pixies! What a gift. In 1987 the Pixies recorded and release Come On, Pilgrim, and a legendary band is born. Eight songs of pure messed-up, original genius. What I didn't know was that they recorded 17 songs during those Fort Apache sessions. Finally, 15 years later, we get to hear the other 9 songs. Thank you, spinART records. Thank you. Tonight, I pick up my very first new car. A personal milestone, and a long time coming. My five-speed lifestyle starts now.  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
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